About AbaF
What do we do?
AbaF connects the arts, business
and donors.
Every day we bring together the
worlds of business and the arts
around Australia.
Through information, expert advice and
networking events we are the catalyst
for giving business a creative edge and
help arts and cultural organisations
achieve their creative visions.
For 12 years AbaF has helped to
change the culture of private sector
support for the arts in Australia and
built the capacity of the arts, business
and donors to connect.
Private support for the arts has more
than doubled from $108M in 2000 to
$221M in 2010.
By partnering with business, arts
organisations discover new ways to
become more sustainable, enhance
their work and expand their reach.
Business benefits too, through brand
alignment, employee engagement
and community contribution.
Partners commit more than just
money. They both have a stake in
the other’s success and they work
towards building a relationship that
enhances the profile and success of
both partners.

AbaF over 12 years…
Through workshops, advice and
networking, AbaF is the catalyst for
connecting arts organisations and
businesses and provides ongoing
support to help partnerships grow.
Donations are an important part of
the income mix for the arts. AbaF
works with donors, artists and cultural
organisations to help them make the
most of their relationships. We do this
by providing information and advice
through AbaF’s Australia Cultural Fund.

How are we structured?
Established in 2000, AbaF is a
company of the Commonwealth
and is supported by the Australian
Government through the Cultural
Development Program of the Office
for the Arts, Department of Regional
Australia, Local Government, Arts
and Sport.

Find out more.
Visit the AbaF website where you can
find out more about all our offerings
including adviceBank and boardBank,
which match business volunteers with
arts projects or arts boards. Donors
can browse through artists and arts
organisations eligible to receive
donations through AbaF’s Australia
Cultural Fund.
AbaF regularly runs workshops to
provide practical advice for arts
organisations and businesses
and we host networking events
around the country to help bring
arts organisations, artists, business
professionals and donors together.
The details for these events and
much more are all online.

Total private sector support for the
arts has more than doubled:

$108M in 2000

$221M in 2010

Visit abaf.org.au

AbaF is governed by a board
appointed by the Minister for the Arts,
chaired by Terry Campbell AO.
AbaF has a national council of senior
business leaders who are champions
and advocates for business support
for the arts. See the full list of AbaF
councillors on page 70.
AbaF receives financial support
from our councillors and corporate
partners to deliver our programs and
services in response to the needs and
opportunities in each state and territory.

AbaF numbers...
24,102 business & arts
guests brought together
at AbaF events
5,500 donations made
to artists through AbaF’s
Australia Cultural Fund
$10M in donations to AbaF’s
Australia Cultural Fund
3,490 artists used AbaF services
to improve their business

$9.4M total value of business
volunteering for the arts
13,065 attendees at
AbaF workshops
182 companies and 237
individuals have led through
the AbaF Council
236 SME arts partnerships
through PAPF
$2.26M to the arts through PAPF

1,273 business volunteers
through adviceBank & boardBank
2

AbaF Gold Book 2012

3,408 arts organisations
have worked with AbaF
3

Foreword

Julia Gillard
Australian creativity touches
all of our lives. The arts are an
essential expression of our identity
and culture. Importantly, our
creative industries also make a
vital contribution to the Australian
economy worth more than $30
billion annually to Australia’s GDP,
employing some 285,000 people
and supported by over 200,000
volunteers.
Strong partnerships between the arts, government and
private supporters are essential for a thriving cultural sector
and are a key element of the National Cultural Policy.
Through this landmark policy, the first of its kind in almost 20
years, the Australian Government is working to support the
arts in the 21st century and to strengthen their contribution
to a dynamic and diverse Australia. A cornerstone of this
policy is our commitment to encouraging philanthropic,
sponsorship and business support for the arts.
The Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) Awards and
the case studies in this year’s Gold Book showcase the
best in partnerships between the arts, business and private
supporters and are a powerful tool for championing the
value of private support for the arts.
On behalf of the Australia Government I congratulate the
nominees and winners of the AbaF Awards and wish you all
the very best for your ongoing work in supporting Australia’s
rich cultural life.

The Honourable Julia Gillard
Prime Minister of Australia

Terry Campbell
Welcome to the 2012 AbaF Gold
Book.

Contents
About AbaF............................................................................................................. 2
AbaF Partnership of the Year................................................................................. 6

The annual AbaF Awards and AbaF
Gold Books have acknowledged the
very best relationships between the
arts, business and donors since 2001.
Over 12 years the AbaF Awards
have become a driving force in
connecting the arts with the private
sector and setting the standards for best practice.
They have grown and expanded, responding to a more
sophisticated environment for private support and
encompassing awards for cultural giving, environmental
sustainability, health and community wellbeing and accessibility.
They have also recognised impressive leaders in business,
philanthropy and the arts.
Looking to the future we are working to expedite the
amalgamation of AbaF with the Artsupport program of the
Australia Council to create a new organisation which will
soon become Australia’s pre-eminent one-stop shop for
connecting the arts, business, donors and philanthropists.
On behalf of the Board and staff I offer sincere thanks to
the 2012 AbaF Awards judges and those who’ve done such
a wonderful job for the last 12 years. I also appreciate and
thank the business, arts and community leaders who have
contributed to the AbaF Awards over their rich history.
I am proud to acknowledge AbaF’s government and corporate
partners and AbaF councillors; we would not achieve the
success we do without your commitment and support. I thank
the AbaF Board members for their loyalty and contribution and
the AbaF team that delivers impressive results.

The stories of the 2012 Gold Book are evidence of the
collaboration of many passionate individuals and AbaF and the
AbaF Awards are a credit to the companies and individuals who
partner with, volunteer for and give to the arts.
I hope you enjoy and are inspired by the terrific outcomes
that can be achieved when connections are made between
arts, business and donors.

Terry Campbell AO
Chairman of AbaF

4

AbaF Gold Book 2012

5

AbaF Partnership of the Year

Winner

Darwin Symphony Orchestra
and Sitzler

National and
Northern Territory
& South Australia

Benefits for the arts organisation

Outcomes for the community

• Performance opportunities in front
of large crowds

• Concerts with free admission

• Support to tour new works
• Media exposure in both advertising
and reporting of the event
• New fundraising contacts and an
increase in overall support
Benefits for the business
• Strong brand presence at the event
with banners and branded t-shirts
for the orchestra

• A sense of ownership in the unique
programming
• Collaboration between the
orchestra and local Indigenous pop
and country and western singers
• A live stream of Big Sky Country by
radio to 149 remote communities

While the DSO is Darwin-based, it
really belongs to the whole of the
Territory. The performing members
are all volunteers and give an
enormous amount of their personal
time to practise and perform with the
orchestra for their communities. The
Red Desert Tour to Alice Springs was
our way of sharing the enjoyment
produced by the fine musical outfit
that the Darwin Symphony Orchestra
has become.
Michael Sitzler, Sitzler

• Media coverage leading up to and
including the performance
• Brand alignment with values
of accessibility, vibrancy and
volunteering
• Engagement with staff and other
event stakeholders

The Darwin Symphony Orchestra
(DSO) is made up of 60 volunteer
musicians who live and work in
the community. Sitzler, one of the
largest construction companies in
the Northern Territory, has grown
alongside the DSO. Together Sitzler
and the DSO work to reach more and
more people across the region with
regular touring and inventive venue
choices and their 20 year partnership
has played a central role in tours to
Alice Springs.
In 2011 the Sitzler Red Desert
Tour entertained the Alice Springs
community over a period of five days
with local collaborations and the
exciting new works, Songs from Big
Sky Country and Symphony Under
The Stars. The performances featured
the collaborative efforts of the DSO,
Red Hot Arts Central Australia and
local Alice Springs artists Warren H.
Williams, Catherine Satour and Jacinta
Price as well as Northern Territory
composer Cathy Applegate and His
Honour Mr Tom Pauling, AO QC,
Administrator of the Northern Territory.

6

AbaF Gold Book 2012

By collaborating with local musicians
and performing popular rock songs
as well as well-known classical
works, the DSO challenged audience
perceptions of an orchestra and in
doing so attracted new members of
the community.
Songs from Big Sky Country was
streamed live by Central Australia
Aboriginal Media Association radio
to 149 remote communities. The
involvement of local artists and
performers in the concerts, such as
the Larapinta Primary School choir,
gave Alice Springs ownership of the
event and further encouraged the
community’s interest.
Sitzler is an Alice Springs-founded
business and the enthusiastic response
of local audiences has reinforced the
importance of their partnership with the
DSO. The business employs people
from all over Australia and these
concerts have provided an opportunity
to introduce employees to the unique
aspects of their new home and
demonstrate the benefits of a Northern
Territory lifestyle. Ties with the Alice
Springs arts community have also been
strengthened through connections with
local Indigenous artists.

For last year’s concert, DSO and
Sitzler wanted maximum community
engagement. The generous support
of Sitzler made this possible with
the tour events all free to attend.
DSO was also able to work on a
larger scale, increasing its legitimacy
as a key cultural organisation in
the eyes of audiences, potential
sponsors and donors. By opening
up these avenues of awareness
and support, Sitzler is ensuring that
future performance, learning and
development opportunities for Alice
Springs and Territory-wide musicians
remain available.
Everyone involved in the partnership
took pride in a unique and enjoyable
event that received widespread
media coverage. The enthusiastic
response to the Sitzler Red Desert
Tour has encouraged the partners to
grow the event into a biannual event.
Both Darwin Symphony Orchestra
and Sitzler are proud to have been
involved in an event that was
embraced by such a broad audience
and has created such strong links
within the community.

Western Australia
This is a project that takes seriously
the Indigenous ways of doing
business, particularly the importance
of country, family, story, dance and
music. It makes the vital link between
children, transmission of knowledge
and respect for senior people.

For partnerships between
businesses and arts and
cultural organisations
that enhance the life of
communities.

Dr David Palmer,
independent evaluator

Toyota values the diverse community
groups that contribute to Australia’s
identity and social fabric. Through
the Toyota Community Spirit
program, Toyota promotes issues
and activities that are important to
the Australian community. AbaF and
Toyota have established a successful
partnership to present the Toyota
Community Award to recognise
business partnerships with the arts
that enhance the cultural, social and
economic life of local communities.

Benefits for the arts organisation
• The capacity to employ a large,
professional team to create content,
a touring theatre work and more
A partnership between Woodside,
the country’s largest independent oil
and gas company and Big hART, a
national organisation that delivers
participatory arts-based community
projects, has produced the inspiring
Yijala Yala Project.
In 2007, Woodside entered into a
$34 million conservation agreement
with the Commonwealth Government
to identify, manage and transmit
knowledge regarding the heritage of
the Dampier Archipelago and Burrup
Peninsula. This area has the most
dense concentration of Aboriginal
rock engravings in Australia and
is also rich in ceremonial standing
stones, stone pits and circular stone
arrangements.
In 2010, Big hART was invited to
work in conjunction with members
of the local Aboriginal community on
an inter-generational, multi-platform
arts project that was focused on
conserving and promoting the area’s
cultural heritage in innovative ways.
Now known as the Yijala Yala
Project, this collaboration uses arts
and digital media to engage young
people while also increasing literacy
levels, education and employment
opportunities. Ultimately, the project is
developing a group of young leaders

that will guide the social, economic
and cultural future for their community
beyond the current resources boom.
As well as engaging young people
in Roebourne, the Yijala Yala Project
has produced content that helps
communicate cultural heritage
through theatre pieces, films, music,
photographs, artwork and digital
storybooks.
The quality of this content and the
innovative use of new technologies
has resulted in great interest and
support from both within and
outside the community. Each time
a new product is created, interest
in the project increases and more
community members participate in the
skill-building, mentoring and creation
of cultural content.
Through this partnership between
Woodside and Big hART,
opportunities are being created
that will help diversify the area’s
economy and provide a greater range
of employment options while also
preserving its cultural heritage.

• The capacity to work with more
community members for a longer
period of time
• Business model mentoring
Benefits for the business
• Increased opportunities to engage
with the community through
performances and participation in
cultural activities
• Opportunities to promote a clearer
understanding of Woodside’s role
in conserving the Burrup Peninsula
and Dampier Archipelago
• The ability to educate Woodside
employees and contractors about
the Indigenous culture of the region
Outcomes for the community
• Skills development in arts
administration, production,
storytelling, performance, digital
media, song and dance
• Community involvement through
school workshops, cultural
mentoring, artist collaboration and
guides for project workers
• Content creation including a touring
theatre work, short films and iPad
storybooks
• Preservation of cultural heritage

my own private neon oasis has
contributed to a sense of belonging,
fostered cultural awareness and
been a source of cultural pride for the
artists, arts workers, visitors to and
residents of Sunnybank, as well as
the broader Queensland arts sector.

This program has been an excellent
example of what can be achieved by
these smaller community companies
working together to achieve what
could not have happened if acting
alone. We are looking to promote
this collaborative model in other
programs outside of the arts arena.

Robyn Daw,
A/Director Visual Arts,
Craft and Design, Arts Queensland

The Museum of Brisbane (MoB)
celebrates the many facets of
Brisbane’s identity and culture
through social history and visual arts
projects. For the contemporary art
project, my own private neon oasis,
MoB partnered with a shopping
centre, Sunnybank Plaza, to help
deliver this unique exploration of
identity and community.
The project has brought about a
series of opportunities, challenges
and firsts for both partners. Hosting
a contemporary art project was
definitely not usual business for
Sunnybank Plaza. The project meant
expanding the reach of the shopping
centre to the broader Brisbane
community and the arts sector as well
as to the general public through social
media. For MoB, the project meant
expanding its Brisbane interest to the
rich cultural experiences of the suburb
of Sunnybank.
The central idea behind my own
private neon oasis was that at
Sunnybank it is easy to be a tourist
in one’s own backyard. The project
explored how identity can be
expressed and articulated in a place
such as Sunnybank, regardless of
cultural background.

10

AbaF Gold Book 2012

my own private neon oasis presented
nine projects by seven international,
national and local artists and
designers, each transforming ordinary
spaces around the shopping centre
into extraordinary encounters. One
popular project was Thea Baumann’s
Hologram Holiday inside a nail
salon, in which participants, while
having their nails painted, could be
transported in their minds to exotic
destinations while listening to dreamy
soundtracks.
The project received a great deal of
public interest and media exposure,
with increased visitation for the
shopping centre. MoB benefitted too,
as it was able to present its first major
offsite project and gain experience
working across contemporary, public
and community art.
The community of Sunnybank also
benefitted greatly from this project.
my own private neon oasis helped
to create a sense of belonging,
fostered deeper cultural awareness
and was a source of much pride for
the community.

• Opportunity to reinforce vision
of a vibrant, creative city
Benefits for the business
• Positive media attention
• Cross marketing with a reputable
city-based cultural organisation
• City-wide interest with new
customers introduced to the area
Outcomes for the community
• New, engaging and enriching
experiences for the community
• Alternative, non-commercial
reasons to visit Sunnybank
• Increased local spending by
converting audiences to customers

A partnership between the Bendigo
Community Banks in the Geelong
Region and the Geelong Performing
Arts Centre (GPAC) was born out of a
need for both partners to reach further
into their shared communities. The
result has been an expansion of the
gpac:ed creative education program
which now inspires young minds
across the region.
GPAC has been providing educational
programs since it opened in 1981.
With the support of its partner,
Bendigo Community Banks, it has
been able to grow the gpac:ed
program and reach a bigger range
of schools. Over 9000 students and
more than 80 schools from the wider
Geelong region currently attend
educational activities at GPAC.
In the past, Bendigo Bank was part of
the GPAC community as the naming
rights sponsor of their Family Magic
program. In 2009, the Geelong
region’s Community Banks joined the
partnership as education program
sponsors for an initial three-year term.
They have since reconfirmed their
commitment with a further three-year
agreement.

Bendigo Community Banks’ support
for gpac:ed enables GPAC to
provide high quality, low or no cost
programs for students of all ages
across the region, including students
with disabilities, students from nonEnglish speaking backgrounds and
students from areas considered
disadvantaged.
Community banks often support
local organisations, but through this
program they are enabling young
people in their communities to enjoy
the same opportunities as their peers
in a major city. The partnership also
allows GPAC to build its profile among
teachers who may be considering
similar services in Melbourne.

• Increased profile, reach and
scope of gpac:ed
Benefits for the business
• Raised profile in target communities
and across the region
• Positive marketing and publicity
opportunities
• Directors and managers of banks
invited to present awards to
students
Outcomes for the community
• More schools and more students
reached across the region
• Through gpac:ed, students gain
skills for life

There is considerable evidence
supporting the power of performing
arts to build confidence, improve
learning and contribute to positive
mental health in young people.
Through this partnership, the
Geelong Performing Arts Centre
and Bendigo Community Banks
have been able to demonstrate their
commitment to their communities by
providing opportunities to high quality
performing arts and education.

Image credit: Primary school students with Poppykettle drums at the Poppykettle Festival.
Photo: Ferne Millen.

Facilitating storytelling is a major
aspect of ICE’s everyday work and
One Day in Cabramatta allowed
us to work with the Vietnamese
community to encourage them to
share their thoughts and feelings
about Cabramatta. This was a richly
rewarding project to partner on.

Junction Arts Festival is a brand
activation playground offering
opportunities for business and
the clients we have introduced to
this festival to interact with their
audiences in ways they’ve never
been able to before.
Rick Marton,
Effective Naturally

Lisa Torrance,
Executive Director, ICE

A unique storytelling project has
been created through a partnership
between national broadcaster, SBS,
Western Sydney arts organisation,
Information and Cultural Exchange
(ICE) and arts collectives Popperbox/
Symple Creative and The Lot.
The project was designed to
facilitate discussion in Cabramatta
around issues raised by the SBS
documentary series, Once Upon a
Time in Cabramatta.
Local community members were
asked to share their experiences
of Cabramatta through the One
Day in Cabramatta Mobile Story
Exchange, a custom-built roving tea
cart. Community members received
a cup of chilled chrysanthemum
tea in exchange for story cards
that were then compiled to form a
commemorative book. The book was
later handed back as a time capsule
for future generations to better
understand the journey that shaped
their suburb.
All four partners embraced this
opportunity to build on the popular
documentary. The multicultural focus
and core values of SBS and ICE led
them to explore what could happen if
they pooled their resources to create

12

AbaF Gold Book 2012

a community engagement project.
SBS initiated the conversations
with ICE which, in turn, engaged
local artist collectives The Lot and
Popperbox/Symple Creative.
The Lot drew from an experience
in architecture to create the mobile
exchange tea cart and Popperbox/
Symple Creative worked on
design elements and the 230
page commemorative book. Both
collectives benefitted from connecting
with the communities and working
with SBS and ICE has opened up
several future opportunities.
Through this unique collaboration,
SBS has been able to build even
deeper connections with the
communities that inspire their
documentaries. At the same time,
ICE was able to connect the cultural
life of Western Sydney with people
beyond its boundaries as well as offer
traineeships with SBS to their staff.

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• ICE staff granted SBS traineeships

• Support and consultation

• Relationship building with the
community in Western Sydney

• A growing network of supporters

• Brand exposure, especially through
social media
Benefits for the business
• Engagement with the Cabramatta
communities
• Stories collected for multiplatform
storytelling
Outcomes for the community
• A greater sense of identity and
belonging
• Empowerment through storytelling
• A ‘time capsule’ containing the
people of Cabramatta’s stories

Working together, the partners
proved the power of storytelling for
bringing communities together. For
all partners, the evidence of the
project’s success lies in the breadth
of stories collected in the One Day
Commemorative Book.

• Ongoing access to short run
print facilities
Junction Arts Festival (JAF) is an
annual multi-arts event in Launceston
that encourages collaboration
and participation. The partnership
facilitation, financial and in-kind support
provided by brand engagement
specialists, Effective Naturally has
helped to expand the Festival and
showcase community involvement.

Working in collaboration with JAF, he
identified potential strategic partners
that would benefit by aligning their
brand with JAF. Proposals were then
distributed which outlined the benefits
to potential partners from both a social
and economic viewpoint. This was also
an opportunity to introduce Effective
Naturally and JAF to a new audience.

JAF features five days and nights
of interactive and ambitious
contemporary art, with a focus
on works that invite audiences to
become active participants and
collaborators. The Festival aims to
help the community be the best it can
be, while Effective Naturally seeks
to do the same for individuals and
business. As such, these two partners
are a natural fit.

Effective Naturally facilitated
partnerships with a significant number
of organisations, resulting in an
expanded and improved offering for
the Festival. From 47 events in 2010,
the inaugural JAF, 60 events were
offered in 2011, 57 of which were free.

Both partners felt it was important that
the Festival offered a broad range of
events with free entry so that a large
cross-section of the community could
participate. In order to offer such a
program, additional corporate support
was required.

Together, Junction Arts Festival and
Effective Naturally have created
mutually beneficial business arts
relationships throughout Tasmania.
With this additional support, the
Festival has evolved and with strategic
brand exposure, the supporting
businesses have shared in its success.

Benefits for the business
• Logo inclusion on marketing
material
• Networking opportunities with
Festival partners
• Free tickets, invitations to
VIP events
Outcomes for the community
• An expanded interactive Festival
with more free events
• Engagement of arts and a broad
range of businesses strengthening
their community connection

Tasked with leveraging networks and
developing the growth of the Festival
as a whole, Effective Naturally’s
Rick Marton was engaged as JAF’s
Corporate Partnerships Manager
to develop strategic partnerships.

National and
South Australia
Santos’ business in remote parts of
Australia has made it an important
contributor to the communities where
it works over many years and through
our partnership and in particular
the Desert Country exhibition, it is
adding to the broader community’s
understanding and appreciation of
the stunning art of remote Australia.

For partnerships between
businesses employing 200
or more people (globally)
and arts and cultural
organisations.

Nick Mitzevich, Director,
Art Gallery of South Australia

Business partnerships with the arts
are about more than monetary value;
making the right connections brings
benefits for all kinds of businesses
and cultural organisations. The arts
profit from access to the resources
that business can provide to support
their growth and sustainability and
the businesses value partnerships
that are creative and deliver on their
corporate objectives. AbaF is proud
to acknowledge and showcase
successful partnerships that
demonstrate a strategic alignment
and mutually beneficial outcomes.

Benefits for the arts organisation
• Financial resources to increase
exposure of its Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander collection
The Desert Country exhibition is the
pinnacle of a significant five year
partnership (2009–2013) between
Santos and the Art Gallery of
South Australia. Behind the many
achievements of this long-lasting
relationship is the objective to bring
benefits to Indigenous people and the
broader community.

For the exhibition opening, the Gallery
created a deeper experience than the
typical private viewing with traditional
cultural performances by Kaurna
people, local Indigenous hip hop
bands and DJs, children’s activities,
bush tucker and curator’s tours.
Twenty artists and their families from
remote communities were present.

The partnership between Santos
and the Gallery has evolved through
an understanding of each other’s
needs. For Santos, one of the
country’s largest gas producers,
this is to pay tribute to the regional
landscape and to demonstrate its
growing commitment to Indigenous
communities. For the Gallery, it is
to develop its Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander collection. Under a new
agreement, Santos is now principal
partner of the Gallery’s Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander collection.

This partnership has created a
valuable legacy. With Santos’ support,
the Gallery was not only able to tour
Desert Country to almost 40,000
people, it has been able to continue
to build its culturally rich collection.
At the same time, Santos has been
able to demonstrate its commitment to
Indigenous people and communities
in a meaningful way.

The collaboration has supported the
successful Desert Country exhibition
and national tour, the appointment
and travel fellowship for a curator
of Indigenous art, four high-quality
publications, tour promotion, the
acquisition of a significant work and
substantial expansion of the Gallery’s
online collection.

The Santos and Art Gallery of South
Australia partnership continues to be
a positive alignment of energy and
interests that has delivered tangible
benefits to the partners and the
community.

• Alignment with an ASX Top 20
company, enhancing its credentials
to potential sponsors
• Appointment of an Indigenous
curator and funding artists’ travel
to and from remote communities,
bringing curatorial authenticity and
engagement with 54 Aboriginal
groups
Benefits for the business
• Added cultural credibility in
business negotiations with
Indigenous communities
• Significant exposure to a
culturally respectful brand
• Enhanced reputation with
stakeholders and staff by bringing
a high quality cultural event to
communities where Santos operates
How they made it work
• The principal partner role of the
Gallery’s Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander collection is based
on a five-year funding arrangement
for 2009–2013
• Santos’ Manager Community and
Corporate Responsibility and the
Gallery’s Manager Development are
the lead relationship custodians, with
interaction between the partners
also occurring at CEO, senior
executive and employee levels

15

AbaF Partnering Award

Poetry In Action and Gadens Lawyers

Winner

AbaF Partnering Award

Winner

New South Wales

Melbourne Recital Centre
and Audi Australia

Victoria

The Gadens and PIA partnership
has been, and continues to be,
a great adventure for Poetry In
Action. While we’ve certainly been
supported, we’ve also been pushed
artistically in ways that would simply
not be possible without this kind of
engagement.

Through our partnership with
Melbourne Recital Centre, Audi has
been able to thank Victorians for their
support, by enabling this excellent
institution to provide the very best
musical program for the community
to experience.
Audi representative

Bryce Youngman,
Artistic Director, Poetry In Action

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• Opportunity to become a larger
presence in business

• Support for increased selfpresented programs and
educational programs

• Ability to invest in new projects
both in and out of education
The pairing of one of Australia’s
leading law firms and a small not-forprofit theatre in education organisation
may seem unusual. However this is
a partnership born out of a shared
passion for language and it has
proven to be a resounding success.
The partnership began at an AbaF
Awards ceremony where Bryce
Youngman from Poetry In Action
(PIA) was seated next to Campbell
Hudson, a partner at Gadens
Lawyers. The actor/poet and lawyer
found they shared an appreciation
for the importance of language in the
workplace. Following this encounter,
Campbell invited Bryce to consider
how it might be possible to fuel a
passion for language within the
Gadens’ office.
After much discussion, PIA proposed
Hero’s Journey. This was a bespoke,
22-week program that would involve
75 Gadens’ staff taking part in
10 poetry classes and a series of
workplace activities and installations.

but in busy professionals. With
open communication and a shared
willingness to try something new, the
Hero’s Journey began.
The key objectives of the partnership
for Gadens included stimulating
the use of concise and compelling
language among staff, supporting
emerging talent and discovering bold
and creative solutions to workplace
challenges. Those objectives were
well and truly met, engaging staff and
inspiring a more creative place to work.
The partnership also greatly benefited
PIA by opening up the possibilities
of pursuing its mission out of theatre
in education into the professional
world. Indeed, due to the success of
the Hero’s Journey, Poetry In Action
is implementing two new programs
for Gadens Lawyers in 2012 as the
partnership continues.

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Benefits for the business
• Staff encouraged to use and enjoy
expressive, compelling language
• Factor to encourage staff retention
in a workplace of choice
• Continued and deepened
engagement with the arts
community
How they made it work
• A high level of engagement and
attention to detail in both the
management of the program and
the partnership
• Frequent management sessions
to discuss the program, the
partnership and the impact on
the staff involved
• A professional undertaking with
both parties entering into a
contractual agreement.

As a pilot program, it was risky.
Gadens was investing significant
resources in a program that had never
been run. PIA had the challenge
of trying to instil their passion for
language not in high school students

16

• Increased promotion and
networking opportunities

Image credit: Team Gadens. Photo: Bryce Youngman.

Audi Australia is the principal partner
of Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC).
This collaborative partnership was
established in 2009 with the opening
of MRC and is now in its fourth year
of delivering business benefits to
both organisations as well as positive
outcomes for the wider Victorian
community.
As a German business, Audi enjoys
this partnership as it reinforces
its position as a progressive,
sophisticated, lifestyle brand that is
deeply embedded in and committed
to enriching the cultural fabric of the
Australian community. For MRC,
Audi’s principal partnership has been
seminal to fulfilling its potential as
one of Australia’s best places to hear
great music.
The partnership shares a principle
of active engagement of its
stakeholders, which has resulted
in exclusive meet-the-artist events
and behind-the-scenes talks for Audi
dealers and their customers. Just
as MRC has facilitated networking
opportunities between Audi and
its other corporate partners, Audi
client events have helped build new
audiences for MRC.

Knowledge sharing and capacity
building have been integral to the
relationship as both brands have
gone about establishing themselves
in Victoria. A specific impact
of the partnership for Audi has
been successfully building brand
recognition with MRC audiences.
Audi dealers have reported that
access to MRC via the partnership
enables them to provide a better
experience for their customers.
For MRC, the sustained investment
represented by Audi’s principal
partnership has enabled it to build
a viable business model and fully
leverage marketing and audience
development opportunities. This
in turn has greatly benefitted
the Victorian community and the
Australian music sector. Specifically,
Audi’s support has enabled MRC to
substantially increase self-presented
and educational programs.
Audi and the MRC share brand
values of technical excellence brought
to life with vigour, quality and passion.
Their partnership has taken that
alignment and imaginative leveraging
to maximise benefits for each partner
and for the Australian music sector.

• Increased awareness of MRC
among Audi customers
• Staff engagement including
invitations to other Audi
corporate events
Benefits for the business
• Reinforced core brand values
in the Victorian market
• Principal partnership rights and
naming rights to the Audi foyer,
signage, advertising and logo
recognition on collateral
How they made it work
• Organisation-wide engagement
has demonstrated the value placed
on the partnership by each partner
and the shared commitment to
maximising benefits
• Quarterly meetings establish and
monitor progress on objectives
• A work-in-progress grid enables
day-to-day monitoring of partnership
activations and is facilitated by
monthly conference calls

17

AbaF Partnering Award

West Australian Symphony Orchestra
and Chevron Australia

Winner

AbaF Partnering Award

Winner

Western Australia

Ten Days on the Island
and Southern Cross

Tasmania
The professionalism which the Ten
Days staff applies to all aspects of
our partnership ensures that I can
easily pick up the phone with ideas
or suggestions that will improve the
delivery of our partnership.

Supporting culture and the arts in
Western Australia is aligned with
our commitment to contribute to
the liveability of the communities in
which we operate. We are proud to
be able to give back to the Western
Australian community through our
partnership with the West Australian
Symphony Orchestra.

Chevron Australia is one of the
world’s leading integrated energy
companies and is currently
developing the Gorgon and
Wheatstone natural gas projects in
the Pilbara. As the state’s largest
performing arts organisation, the
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
(WASO) reaches the community
through concerts, touring, education
programs and other initiatives.
Together these two organisations
have delivered on social investment,
audience engagement and education.
Chevron initially partnered with
WASO in 2005 as their Composer in
Residence Community Development
Partner. The partnership grew to
support the Orchestra’s Community
Development program and its
Symphony of Smiles series before
Chevron’s contribution increased
again to support the Master Series
from 2009 to 2010.
With WASO’s growing commitment
to communities across Western
Australia, the partners recognised
they had a shared vision. This led
to Chevron’s sponsorship of the
WASO on the Road metro tour and
WASO on the Road Pilbara tour. Both
Chevron and WASO believe that
programs such as these are integral
to the sustainable growth of the arts

18

AbaF Gold Book 2012

across the state. It is their shared
commitment to develop capability in
communities through education and
access to the arts that has made the
partnership such a success.
The Chevron-WASO partnership
supports both the flagship concert
series and grassroots programs that
benefit communities, in particular
disadvantaged youth. The WASO
on the Road program takes small
ensembles to visit schools and with
Chevron’s support the program
toured the Pilbara towns of Karratha,
Roebourne and Onslow. This tour
also brought the talents of the
Orchestra to students with limited
access to music education in Perth.
WASO’s experience in delivering
music education provides the perfect
channel for Chevron to achieve its
social investment goals. Audience
engagement with both performances
and education has demonstrated the
success of the partnership and there
is a strong commitment to the future
development of programs throughout
the Pilbara and beyond.

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• Education, community activities
and tour expenses covered

• Delivery of the festival program
to a broader community

• Increased capability to deliver
programs in regional areas and to
engage with communities

• Five times the value of the
advertising spend

• In 2011, 21,887 people were
exposed to outstanding classical
performances, world artists and new
music through the Master Series
Benefits for the business
• Improved long-term wellbeing
of residents in Chevron’s areas
of operation
• Recognition and acknowledgement
in all sponsored programs and
regional media
• Tickets for key stakeholder
engagement
How they made it work
• Clear plans, timelines and monthly
progress meetings as well as
midyear and end of year reports
• A clear dialogue that fosters trust
and openness
• Evaluation through feedback
surveys

Southern Cross is a television
network committed to delivering
engaging and relevant programming
across Tasmania. Ten Days on the
Island is a multi arts festival that takes
place every two years across the
entire state. Since the first festival
in 2001, a relationship between the
two organisations has evolved to
a mutually beneficial and strategic
partnership that delivers on each
other’s corporate objectives.
The relationship began as a media
partnership with Southern Cross
delivering non-exclusive media
services on behalf of Ten Days at a
rate negotiated below market value.
That arrangement continued until
2009 when the partners explored a
larger corporate partnership, after
which a new era began with Southern
Cross signing as a full corporate
partner of Ten Days.
A common objective of this
partnership has been to enhance
the festival profile state wide and
ultimately increase access to
events across Tasmania. This has
been achieved through television
advertisements and campaigns
across multiple platforms.

One of the significant characteristics of
this partnership has been growth and
the impact of that growth extending
this partnership beyond a commercial
agreement to include state wide
programming, improved community
awareness and the promotion of arts
and cultural activities.
Another reason the partnership
has been such a success is a
consideration of how each partner
works within their own business. Each
acknowledges the opportunities the
other has to bring to the partnership
and how these can add value and
develop the scope of the partnership.
At the successful conclusion of the
2011 festival, the 2013 partnership
was entered into without hesitation.
Ten Days on the Island and Southern
Cross continue to ensure the
partnership brings benefits to each
other and as a result they continue to
deliver even greater benefits to the
entire Tasmanian community.

• Strategic business and stakeholder
introductions with opportunities for
new business and partnerships
Benefits for the business
• VIP tickets and invitations to
key events
• Branding and marketing benefits
• Raised market share and profile
How they made it work
• The partnership is delivered
within the framework of a preagreement MOU highlighting the
core objectives and values that both
parties are working towards
• Regular communication focuses on
the partnership’s progress as well
as new opportunities that may be
presented
• The structured, yet fluid, working
agreement ensures both partners
are able to share and drive the
achievement of objectives defined
in the MOU

19

AbaF Partnering Award

Winner

Queensland Music Industry
Network and Virgin Australia

Queensland

City of Melbourne
SME Award

Ours is a brand that has a long and
historic association with music. It
has been a pleasure to work (with
QMusic) to develop a solution that
will deliver real tangible benefits to
Australian artists on a daily basis.

For partnerships between
businesses employing fewer
than 200 people (globally)
and arts and cultural
organisations.

Richard Tanner,
Group Executive - People,
Virgin Australia
Benefits for the arts organisation
• Greater capacity to grow the
BIGSOUND event, through support,
flights and marketing opportunities
All year round, Melburnians and
visitors can enjoy arts, film and
festivals – a lively calendar of
performances, installations and
exhibitions and stimulating public art.

• Establishing the Virgin Australia
National Music Industry Partnership
to achieve outcomes for the entire
national music industry
Both the Queensland Music Industry
Network (QMusic) and Virgin Australia
share a commitment to servicing and
supporting the growth of Australia’s
contemporary music industry.

to touring artists with a special excess
baggage offering so musicians are
able to plan tours around Australia
that are more profitable and
financially sustainable.

Virgin Australia has recently
undertaken a rebrand and has
re-focused on becoming a
full-service airline, committed to
meeting the needs of its customers
including the music industry. To
that end they have continued their
partnership with QMusic, a not-forprofit organisation that promotes
the artistic value, cultural worth and
commercial potential of music from
around the state.

Another side to the partnership is
Virgin’s investment in a compilation
CD of contemporary Indigenous
artists called HOME. As well giving
support, Virgin stages a launch
event during BIGSOUND for the
album, promotes the release to
staff members and guests and has
developed an inflight Indigenous
music channel featuring the
compilation’s artists.

Initially this partnership was focused
on a traditional sponsorship model
where Virgin Australia provided
QMusic with a package of free
flights for their key industry event,
BIGSOUND. Over four years the
partnership has evolved and grown
significantly with more shared
objectives being delivered across a
range of platforms.
As well as expanding their financial
and in-kind support (through flights)
of BIGSOUND, QMusic and Virgin
have implemented initiatives to
assist contemporary musicians. One
example is Virgin providing assistance

20

AbaF Gold Book 2012

This supports Virgin’s commitment
to its Aboriginal Employment
Strategy and cultural awareness
strategies within the organisation; for
QMusic the project means bringing
Indigenous artists to wider audiences.
Thanks to this partnership with Virgin,
QMusic has been able to grow its
operational capacity and ability to
deliver significant projects. In return,
Virgin has been able to use QMusic’s
skills and networks to strengthen ties
with the music industry. More broadly,
the partnership continues to make
a positive impact on the Australian
music community.

• Support, promotion and distribution
of the compilation album HOME,
showcasing over 40 Indigenous
artists and exposure through an
inflight Indigenous music channel

The City of Melbourne is proud
to foster an environment in which
the arts and business can flourish.
Annually our arts and culture budget
supports a wide range of arts grants
programs and arts related activities.

Benefits for the business

The mutual benefits of arts and
business partnerships enables arts
organisations to better address
important issues – these include
leadership models for business
planning, examining sustainability
practices, as well as improving their
marketing and communication skills.

• As a direct result of this partnership,
Virgin Australia is acknowledged as
the ‘preferred airline’ for almost 20
music industry bodies
• A better understanding of, and
connection with the music industry
• Demonstration of Virgin Australia’s
Aboriginal Employment strategy
and cultural awareness initiatives
for staff

The City of Melbourne is supporting
AbaF to host their national Awards
in 2012 to promote the collaboration
of arts organisations and businesses
around Australia. The City of
Melbourne acknowledges and
encourages the creative contribution
that these partnerships harness and
in particular the value of the City of
Melbourne SME Award.

How they made it work
• This partnership has been set
up with room to evolve. While
the commitment and underlying
principles remain solid, strategies to
build that partnership are responsive
to the needs of both partners
• QMusic’s principal role focuses
on project delivery and leadership
within the Music Industry Taskforce
• An ongoing meeting schedule
allows for discussion of ways in
which Virgin Australia can support
contemporary music

Image credit: Sue-Ray at the BIGSOUND 2011 launch of the HOME 3 compilation.
Photo: Elleni Toumpas

Image Credit:

City of Melbourne SME Award

Winner

City of Melbourne SME Award

Winner

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
and Ports North

National and
Queensland

The HELIX Project and
HARTAC Sales and Distribution

Western Australia

The relationship forged between
CIAF and Ports North has given
people living in regional Far North
Queensland the opportunity to
access a world-class art and
cultural event and embrace the rich
and vibrant art and culture from
Indigenous Queensland artists.

When opening night came, I have
to say I was overwhelmed by the
beauty of it all. I was more than a little
teary. I attended every performance,
bringing HARTAC clients, staff, family
and friends. And when, each night,
I saw people stand and applaud,
along with all the rave reviews, I
really felt so enormously proud that
HARTAC had contributed to making
something very special happen.

Alison Copley,
General Manager, CIAF

Rhoda Harris,
Co-Director, HARTAC

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• A venue for the Art Fair

• Support to stage The HELIX Project

• Support for opening party

• Large format posters, programs
and presentation folders

• Exposure to Ports North
business networks
The successful partnership between
the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF)
and Ports North has enabled the
Art Fair to move into the prestigious
Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal. This has
helped to cement CIAF’s place as one
of the country’s leading Indigenous art
fairs with increased attendance and
wide-ranging benefits for the partners,
the regional community
and Indigenous artists.
Ports North is a Queensland
Government owned corporation that
has been undertaking a waterfront
revitalisation project since 2004
to transform the Cairns waterfront
area with attractive open spaces
and public art. CIAF is a three-day
event that works to build a stronger
and more sustainable Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander arts industry in
Queensland.
In 2008 Arts Queensland approached
Ports North to be part of a steering
committee for the inaugural CIAF.
At the core of this partnership has
been the desire to support Indigenous
communities in which a number of
Ports North regional ports are based.

22

AbaF Gold Book 2012

A formal partnership commenced
between CIAF and Ports North in
2010 and in 2011 Ports North became
the official venue partner, offering
generous support with in-kind venues
so the event could move to the Cairns
Cruise Liner Terminal. Ports North also
assisted CIAF’s public events as coprincipal partner of the opening party.
Thanks in part to Ports North
providing a prestigious waterfront
venue in a central location,
attendance for CIAF increased by
24 per cent to 13,000 in 2011.
Ports North and CIAF came together
through a common interest – an
appreciation of Indigenous art and
the desire to make it accessible to
the public. Their commitment has
extended to a two-year partnership
for 2012-2013. Together they have
lifted each other’s profiles while at
the same time delivering cultural and
economic benefits to the community.

• Knowledge sharing to plan
the event
Benefits for the business
• An improved waterfront area
and showcasing the Terminal
as a venue
• Better understanding of
Indigenous cultures
• VIP events for staff to attend
• Demonstration of commitment
to the community

• Graphic design
HARTAC is a family-owned business
employing 36 people. It is dedicated
to providing safety signage and other
safety products, primarily to the WA
resources sector.
The co-founder and co-director of
HARTAC, Rhoda Harris, has always
been a great admirer of Helpmann
Award-winning dancer Daryl
Brandwood, having seen him dance
with the Western Australian Ballet.
When Rhoda heard about The HELIX
Project, a new solo dance work for
Brandwood, she decided it was the
perfect opportunity for HARTAC’s
entry into the world of arts support.

How they made it work
• A contract with clear objectives
and responsibilities
• Interaction between the partners
at CEO, senior executive and
employee levels throughout the year
• An open, organic relationship
based on goodwill to ensure
CIAF is successful

When the Project went into full
production, HARTAC was able to
provide additional services beyond its
original financial investment. These
included printing very large format,
high-resolution display posters and
providing graphic design for the
souvenir program.
HARTAC’s contribution as a first-time
arts partner meant The HELIX Project
also benefitted from support from
the WA Premier’s Arts Partnership
Fund. The partnership has evolved
and continued beyond the premiere
of The HELIX Project with HARTAC
supporting marketing efforts for
potential national and international
presenters.

The key principles underlying the
partnership are a shared commitment
to creating products of excellence, an
understanding that true collaboration
is based on a vision with mutual
benefits and an acknowledgment that
success stems from having a talented
team of contributors.
These principles have driven the
partnership and delivered both
tangible and intangible benefits to
both partners. The partnership has
allowed HARTAC to lift its profile
within its target demographic, the
key players in the resource sector
in WA who have a strong alignment
with the arts.
For The HELIX Project, the support
of HARTAC proved that attracting
partners from non-traditional
sources provides benefits beyond
those of more traditional sources
such as funding bodies. This
partnership ultimately meant that
The HELIX Project could produce its
acclaimed, award-winning season
and look ahead to more successful
performances.

Benefits for the business
• Positive media coverage
• Opportunity to demonstrate
printing and design capabilities
• Increased corporate and
community profile
• Pride in the partnership from
all staff members
How they made it work
• As HARTAC is a family-owned
business without board members
or shareholders, decisions could
be made immediately
• A direct relationship between
the partners meant needs and
opportunities could be addressed
very quickly. This was especially
important leading up to opening night

23

City of Melbourne SME Award

Arts Project Australia
and Leonard Joel

A first-time partnership has delivered
financial and in-kind support for the
work of Arts Project Australia, at the
same time as it has engaged the staff
and clientele of Leonard Joel.
Both partners are part of the Victorian
art world. Arts Project Australia supports
artists with an intellectual disability,
promoting their work and advocating
for their inclusion in contemporary art
practice, while Leonard Joel provides
auction management services with a
focus on art.
A recent business overhaul at
Leonard Joel included a focus on
developing meaningful alignments
with community partners. Upon
discovering this, Arts Project invited
key Leonard Joel staff for a visit and
a partnership began to develop.
Arts Project Australia was seeking a
partner to help produce an individual
artist catalogue each year for 4 years
to accompany a series of planned
retrospective exhibitions of work
by established Arts Project artists.
Leonard Joel was able to successfully
arrange for the publication of
Viewfinder, a comprehensive survey of
the work of artist Alan Constable over
20 years in the Arts Project studio.

24

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Leonard Joel also hosted the
Outisder Art Fundraising Auction for
Arts Project Australia, the largest
fundraising event in the history of
Arts Project. They also worked
closely together to secure high
quality contemporary artworks
through galleries, collectors and
personal contacts.
The fundraising event provided
publicity opportunities and Arts
Project and Leonard Joel have
also promoted each other and the
partnership in their e-news and other
communications.
For Leonard Joel, this has been a
positive step into engagement with
the community. At the same time, Arts
Project enjoys being part of a true
partnership, rather than simply the
recipient of a charitable gift.
This partnership between Arts Project
and Leonard Joel has been a close
one and with a four-year horizon,
there is a promising future ahead
for both partners.

Winner

City of Melbourne SME Award

Winner

Victoria

IHOS Music Theatre & Opera
and Liminal Spaces

Tasmania

When I began at Leonard Joel in
the role of valuations and assistant
to the Managing Director I would
never have imagined that I’d be
involved in a community project of
such importance. Playing my part
in bringing the Leonard Joel Series
catalogue for Arts Project Australia
together and coordinating the
Leonard Joel side of the fundraising
event has not just been fun, it has
been immensely rewarding.

The relationship between IHOS and
Liminal Spaces commenced on the
basis of a shared creative vision,
underpinned by an enthusiasm to
contribute to Hobart’s status as a
significant place on the national and
international cultural map. This vision
coupled with a desire to contribute
to cultural experience through the
sharing of knowledge and expertise
has elevated IHOS and Liminal
Spaces to a new creative space.

Monique Le Grand, Leonard Joel

IHOS

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• 1000 copies of Viewfinder and
funds raised through its sale

• Professional design and
implementation processes

• Support to print a catalogue every
year for four years

• Access to new networks

• Staff development – Arts Project
gallery staff spent time at Leonard
Joel to learn about auction
processes
• Resources for the fundraising event
– catering and space provided,
artworks sourced and buyers fees
waived by Leonard Joel
Benefits for the business
• New networking and promotional
opportunities
• Introduction to David Bromley led
to Leonard Joel being given a large
selection of Bromley artworks to
auction
• A partner with strong community
credibility
How they made it work
• A formalised agreement in writing
• Regular meetings to discuss the
partnership and new ideas

Image credit: The auction crowd builds. Photo: Kerstine Elliott.

• Critical acclaim for productions
IHOS is a performing arts company
based in Tasmania with a reputation
for creating original music-theatre
and opera. Liminal Spaces is a small
Hobart architecture practice that
believes strongly in supporting the
arts. So far they have collaborated on
two successful productions for MONA
FOMA (Museum of Old and New Art Festival of Music and Art) – Kimisis in
2009 and The Barbarians in 2012 – and
are currently preparing a third opera for
Ten Days on the Island in 2013.

The results have been successful
designs that can be disassembled
and transported easily, allowing the
production to tour to other festivals.
The designs by Liminal were not
only beautiful and appropriate for
the productions, they were also cost
effective for IHOS’s purposes. An
additional advantage was gained
through Liminal’s networks with
other businesses donating valuable
resources and labour towards set
construction.

The relationship between Liminal
Spaces and IHOS began with a
shared creative vision, underpinned
by an enthusiasm to contribute
to Hobart’s status as a significant
cultural location. Liminal deeply
valued the opportunity to contribute
design hours, expertise in managing
an evolving set design, refined project
management, set fabrication skills
and installation strategies.

The collaboration has led to critical
acclaim for IHOS that has lifted the
company’s profile to a new level.
The profile of Liminal Spaces has also
grown as a result of this partnership,
with coverage in design magazines
and recognition at the Australian
Interior Design Awards.

Added to the complexity of staging
opera were the constraints of
constructing a demountable set to
facilitate touring, so the partnership
needed transparent communication,
well documented project management
and collaborative principles to succeed.

Benefits for the business
• Increased profile
• Media exposure
• Added skills
How they made it work
• An initial three day workshop retreat
• Monthly meetings to review budgets
within the context of artistic vision
• Efficient communication through
documentation of outcomes and
delegation of tasks

This highly creative partnership is
based on open communication and
creative challenges and is continuing
with the third collaboration currently
in development.

Lane Four has been a successful
art project for The Galeries, which
has allowed the centre to generate
positive publicity and increase
its presence within the art and
design space. The project has also
presented The Galeries with the
opportunity to provide a platform
for local and emerging artists to
showcase their talent.

Until I attended an AdYO
performance I had never seen an
orchestra perform. I thoroughly
enjoyed it and so did my husband.
I am keen to go again!
Jo-Anne Severin,
Fisher Jeffries, staff member

• A satellite site in the CBD reaching
broader audiences
Lane Four is a new laneway public
art project in the heart of Sydney’s
CBD at The Galeries shopping centre.
Produced and curated by aMBUSH
Gallery, Lane Four launched in
October 2011, attracting wide
audiences to the work of established
and emerging artists.
The Galeries approached aMBUSH
to develop an exhibition infrastructure
for one of its spaces and to curate
a program of art exhibitions. Both
partners share a commitment to
supporting the arts, to innovative
cultural programming and to
achieving commercial outcomes.
With these goals in mind, The
Galeries and aMBUSH combined
their resources, including marketing,
public relations and networks, to
make the project work.
aMBUSH provided a solution to the
various heritage restrictions on The
Galeries and transformed a static
laneway into a gallery space. Lane
Four, has encouraged visitation,
generated positive publicity and
reinforced The Galeries’ brand as
a cultural and lifestyle destination.

26

AbaF Gold Book 2012

At the same time, aMBUSH has
been able to provide a commercial
platform for artists to reach a broader
audience. The creation of Lane Four
has enabled more artists to produce
site-specific, commissioned public art
on a commercial level.

• Increased profile and professional
networks

As well as establishing Lane Four,
aMBUSH has coordinated four
exhibitions per year, curated through
their strong connections within the
art and design industry. So far
they have successfully managed
installations featuring high profile
artists working across street art,
design and photography.

• Solution to the heritage restriction
associated with the building

Within a very short timeframe, Lane
Four has managed to cement itself
as a fresh and engaging public art
project. The fact that the partnership
is continuing past its initial lifespan
is testament to the success of
Lane Four and the strength of the
relationship between The Galeries
and aMBUSH.

Benefits for the business
• Rich content through artist
relationships

• New connections in the creative
industries
How they made it work
• The Galeries manages the venue
and marketing campaigns while
aMBUSH curates each project
and manages the artists.
• Both partners work together to
ensure the outcomes of each
exhibition are on track to meet
the requirements of the centre,
its audience and the artists.
• Regular goals are set and met and
the partners adhere to a regular
meeting schedule.

Image credit: Rainbow City Gaze by Anthony Lister. Photo: Enzo Amato.

The partnership between the
commercial law firm Fisher Jeffries
and the Adelaide Youth Orchestra
(AdYO) was established in 2008.
This harmonious partnership has
evolved from the provision of one-off
legal advice to a mutually valuable
relationship.
As AdYO’s legal partner, Fisher
Jeffries provides advice for a wide
range of legal issues. These have
included preparing employment and
sponsorship contracts, undertaking
reviews of AdYO’s constitution,
reviewing child-safe policies
and providing advice regarding
operational and governance issues.
Both AdYO and Fisher Jeffries
consider the arts to be a fundamental
part of any vibrant community. Fisher
Jeffries regularly promotes AdYO’s
performances and staff members
regularly attend concerts.
As well as introducing new audiences
to AdYO, Fisher Jeffries has opened
doors in the arts and business
community for the Orchestra. The
partnership has also given AdYO
the chance to network with Fisher
Jeffries’ clients, which has increased
fundraising opportunities.

Throughout the partnership, AdYO
has been able to approach Fisher
Jeffries for legal advice, whether the
result is a five-minute phone call or
hours spent on complex sponsorship
agreements. These services have
helped AdYO implement professional
documents and processes that play
a key day-to-day role in minimising
the company’s risk and creating an
effective and safe environment.

• Increased profile in the business
and not-for-profit sectors
Benefits for the business
• Enhanced reputation as a good
corporate citizen
• Increased staff engagement
• Opportunity to network with clients
How they made it work

In return, Fisher Jeffries has
benefitted from the opportunity
to network, to engage with the
community and to build upon its
reputation as a good corporate
citizen. Perhaps most importantly,
however, Fisher Jeffries’ staff
members have enjoyed being
associated with a youth arts group
and seeing such talented young and
emerging artists reach their potential.

• The partnership is managed by
Fisher Jeffries’ Senior Partner,
Nicholas Linke and AdYO’s General
Manager, Christopher Wainwright
• The partnership is assessed on
an annual basis to ensure key
objectives are being met

Each year the AdYO performs to
over 30,000 people with inspiring
orchestral performances by South
Australia’s most gifted young
musicians. The success of AdYO is
due in no small part to the successful
relationship with Fisher Jeffries.

Image credit: AdYO 2012 season launch. Photo: David Cann.

27

AbaF Regional
Award

AbaF Regional Award

Winner

KULCHA Multicultural Arts of Western
Australia and CITIC Pacific Mining

National and
Western Australia
The real value of the CITIC Pacific
Mining and KULCHA partnership
is that by celebrating Western
Australia’s cultural diversity, we
encourage greater social cohesion
in the community. This creates a
stronger economic environment and
a socially prosperous society for all
people and future generations.

For partnerships between
businesses and arts and
cultural organisations that
provide people in regional
and rural areas with access
to high quality arts and
culture.

Jon Cope, KULCHA
General Manager

The AbaF Regional Award
celebrates outstanding
partnerships that provide
Australians in rural and regional
areas with access to quality arts
and cultural activity. With one third
of all Australians living in regional,
rural and remote areas, the
arts present great opportunities
to engage and strengthen
communities as participants and
audience members. Success
in regional arts programs is
enhanced through partnership
and this Award recognises the
business-arts relationships that
contribute to the strength of
cultural life in regional areas.

Benefits for the arts organisation
• A series of performances and
workshops

In 2011, a partnership between
CITIC Pacific Mining and KULCHA
Multicultural Arts of Western Australia
was launched to support multicultural
community arts programs.
KULCHA’s regional strategy had
identified a demand for its services
in Karratha, a key regional community
with a diverse workforce at the
epicentre of Australia’s resources
industry. A major challenge in the
Pilbara is the transient nature of
the population due to impact of the
FIFO workforce, 24-hour shift work
schedules and short-term contracts
which can create barriers to building
a strong sense of community.
KULCHA had been liaising with the
Pilbara Multicultural Association
(PMA), a group of multicultural
families that had recently migrated
to Karratha. Together they had been
discussing ways in which the two
organisations could work together
to build community capacity through
engaging, culturally inclusive projects.

to bring together the many African,
European, Middle Eastern, Asian and
South American cultures represented
in the Karratha region.
KULCHA coordinated the purchase
of samba drums from Brazil and
CITIC Pacific Mining transported
them to Karratha where the PMA took
responsibility for local transportation
to workshops and performances. The
activity was launched at Karratha’s
FeNaClNG Festival in July 2011 with
a weekend of instrument-making
workshops for children and adults
as well as vibrant samba parades.
Since then the band has continued
to grow, with further workshops
and performances planned for the
coming year. It is anticipated that
the Pilbara Samba Band will flourish
independently as a popular community
activity well beyond the life of the
partnership that made it possible.

• Flights, accommodation, travel,
freight and launch events for
KULCHA
• Membership of the Pilbara
Multicultural Association more
than doubled
Benefits for the business
• An opportunity to demonstrate
a commitment to enhancing the
Western Australian community
Outcomes for the region
• Development of the social
prosperity of Karratha and its
surrounding communities
• Greater inclusivity, respect,
harmony and participation in
the community
• Stronger cultural appreciation
in the region

Following consultation, KULCHA
recommended creating the Pilbara
Samba Band, a large-group
multicultural arts activity that could
accommodate the transient nature of
the participants. It was designed to
be a fun, energetic and engaging way

Image credit: Pilbara Samba Band FeNaClNG Festival Workshop shakers.

29

AbaF Regional Award

Winner

AbaF Regional Award

Winner

Darwin Symphony Orchestra
and ConocoPhillps

South Australia &
Northern Territory

Lake Bolac Eel Festival
and Deakin University

Victoria

A Rock Symphony for Everyone was
the most accessible community event
the Darwin Symphony Orchestra has
ever staged in Darwin, with a winning
formula of exciting programming and
free entry. At one stage, it was just a
few ideas floating around in meetings
– our partnership with ConocoPhillips
made this ambitious project a reality.

The partnership with Deakin
University introduced both fresh
ideas and different ways of seeing
our small regional community. This
exploration of place was beautifully
reflected through stories and images
of the community, which were
developed for the Festival and will
remain as part of the community’s
cultural capital.

Guy Ross, General Manager
Darwin Symphony Orchestra

The partnership between Darwin
Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and
ConocoPhillips (CoP) has developed
steadily since it began in 2006,
leading to increased audiences and
increased involvement from each
partner. In 2011 the relationship
enjoyed its biggest success when
the partners staged a free, largescale community event called A Rock
Symphony for Everyone.
At first glance, a volunteer community
orchestra and a global energy
company might seem an unlikely
pair. However they share a strong
commitment to inspiring and engaging
with Northern Territory communities.
CoP had been supporting the DSO’s
annual concerts since 2006 and,
after a particularly successful season
in 2010, the partners could see the
series’ potential to attract even greater
crowds and engage new audiences.
DSO proposed a bold concept –
a rock symphony, featuring the
orchestra as a rock band with electric
violin and cello, popular songs
arranged for the orchestra and
even a choir of Harley-Davidsons.
This concert would challenge preconceived ideas about orchestras
and appeal to new audiences.

30

AbaF Gold Book 2012

The partners decided that the
project’s impact could be extended if
the concert was free. CoP doubled its
contribution and DSO provided funds
to supplement the cost of producing
a free, large-scale community event.
The memorable concert was held on
the eve of the Darwin Cup weekend
and was a huge success with
approximately 4500 people attending
– a significant increase on 2010’s
figure of 1800. Families, friends and
staff from both organisations enjoyed
a night of quality entertainment that
also contributed to a boost in profile
and media exposure for the partners.
A Rock Symphony for Everyone
embraced the outdoor lifestyle
particular to the region’s dry season
and met the partnership’s objective of
contributing to a sense of identity and
belonging in the Top End.

Lake Bolac Eel Festival

Benefits for the cultural partners

Benefits for the cultural partners

• Support for a series of
performances including A Rock
Symphony for Everyone

• Documentation of the festival as
well as workshops, photography
and presentations by Deakin

• Musicians challenged by new music
and non-orchestral instruments

• Festival poster design

• Morale boost from playing for a
large audience including family
and friends
Benefits for the business
• Increased exposure and profile
• Networking opportunities among
industry and government
stakeholders
• Employee engagement with many
CoP staff members involved in the
event preparation
Outcomes for the region
• A free concert, engaging a widecross section of the community
• Greater inclusivity, respect,
harmony and participation in
the community
• Stronger cultural appreciation
in the region

The partnership between Lake Bolac
Eel Festival and Deakin University
has greatly enhanced this annual art
and music festival, while enabling
Deakin to expand its regional
program. Deakin projects formed a
significant part of the Festival program
and contributed to the intellectual and
cultural capital of the region.
The Eel Festival uses music and art
as drawcards to involve people in a
range of cultural and environmental
activities. Although the Festival is
based in a small rural community,
its influence has spread throughout
the region and it has become known
nationally for its focus on Indigenous
and environmental issues.
Deakin University is strengthening
its commitment to connect with
regional communities. In response
to this, Deakin’s Centre for Memory,
Imagination and Invention (CMII)
approached the Eel Festival as part
of their research and a creative
partnership was formed to document
and promote the 2012 Festival.

will remain as part of the community’s
cultural capital and will be translated
into place-based learning programs
for the University.
As a university with regional
campuses, Deakin embraced the
Festival’s commitment to providing a
significant, inclusive, low-cost event
that fosters reconciliation between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous
communities and promotes
ecologically sustainable rural practice.
Deakin CMII’s research theme,
Flows and Catchment, led to Festival
contributions that included workshops,
documentaries and photography
projects as well as poster design and
Festival promotion.
The exciting and creative ideas that
the partners explored together have
helped to strengthen the Festival’s
outreach, influence and network.
Both Deakin University and the
Festival look forward to continuing
this partnership to the benefit of both
partners and the Lake Bolac region.

• Indigenous dancer Rheannan
Port led dance workshops in
five regional schools
• Assistance with costs including
travel and accommodation
Benefits for the business
• Researchers given privileged
access to regional communities
• Material for place-based learning
programs that can be funded and
trialed at Lake Bolac College
• New student research projects
Outcomes for the region
• Greater inclusivity, respect,
harmony and participation in
the community
• Engagement and communication
between Indigenous owners,
farmers, local and national
experts, cultural figures and other
stakeholders in the environmental
sustainability debate

The partnership introduced fresh
ideas and different ways of seeing this
small regional community. Deakin’s
exploration of ‘place’ was beautifully
reflected through stories and images
of the community. Their contribution

Image credit: Volcano Dreaming, students from district schools participating in the dancing.
Photo: Peter Taylor.

31

AbaF Regional Award

Winner

Queensland Youth Orchestras
and Peabody Energy

Queensland
The visit from QYO wind symphony
was just brilliant! My band has found
another gear since they visited and
are going from strength to strength.
I think it was wonderful for them
to interact and perform with such
talented musicians.
Judith Hodge, Music Coordinator,
Mercy College Mackay

Benefits for the cultural partners
• Opportunities for musicians
to improve their skills through
exposure to diverse performance
and workshop situations
The sounds of Queensland Youth
Orchestras (QYO) are heard all across
Queensland thanks to Peabody
Energy’s support for the state’s major
orchestra training and performance
organisation. With the partnership
now in its seventh year, the Peabody
QYO Regional Concert Series allows
top Queensland talent to delight
audiences from Dalby to Moranbah.

located. A regional concert series was
developed in 2010 that sees QYO
students’ tour regional communities
as well as performing and
participating in workshops with local
school students. The joint concerts
have proven to be a huge success
and have enriched regional music
education for students, teachers and
communities alike.

Both partners are impressive in
size. Peabody Energy is the world’s
largest private-sector coal company
and QYO is a world-class orchestra
organisation with up to 500 members
in orchestras and ensembles. In
2006, QYO approached Peabody,
initiating what has become an
enduring partnership that promotes
cultural enrichment and celebrates
Queensland’s creative young people.

In 2011, school musicians from Mackay
toured to Brisbane and performed
alongside QYO’s wind symphony
musicians in the Concerts at Twilight
series. In 2012 the partnership
continues to grow, with an international
symphony orchestra tour to Singapore.

Initially for Peabody the partnership
was about building and cementing
ties with Queensland youth. As the
partnership developed, Peabody and
QYO began to engage with regional
Queensland and with communities
where Peabody’s mines were

32

AbaF Gold Book 2012

From a modest beginning in 2006, the
partnership has gone from strength
to strength. As a result, through the
Peabody Regional Concert Series
and beyond, audiences have enjoyed
accomplished performances of
Queensland’s top musical talent. The
two organisations look forward to
continuing and further developing this
relationship into the future.

• Capacity to tour locally and overseas
Benefits for the business
• Profile building and brand exposure
to new, regional and corporate
audiences
• Enhancing the lifestyle in areas
where Peabody operates
• A demonstration of commitment
to Queensland
Outcomes for the region
• Over 20,000 people attending
QYO performances in 2011
• Entertainment and music education
throughout regional communities
• Long-lasting friendships as young
musicians are billeted with families,
enhancing their experience
and understanding of regional
communities

AbaF
Arts Access
Award
For arts and cultural
organisations which have
implemented projects or
strategies to improve access
for people with disability to
their venues, programs and/
or services.
Developed in collaboration
with Arts Access Australia.

People with disability make up 20% of
Australia’s population yet experience
significantly lower levels of cultural
participation when compared with
other Australians. Through this Award,
AbaF and Arts Access Australia are
delighted to recognise those working
to deliver accessible and inclusive
programs and service for people
with disability and encourage other
organisations to work to this remit.

AbaF Arts Access Award

Winner

AbaF Arts Access Award

Winner

Adelaide Festival

National and
South Australia

St Martins Youth Arts Centre

Victoria

This partnership illustrates the
capacity and responsibility of arts
organisations nationally to lead
and implement access initiatives,
cultivating inclusive approaches to
programming and setting aspirational
benchmarks for theatre-makers,
presenters and producers.

St Martins is a friendly place to be
because everyone there is very
friendly. The Access Officer has
helped me in a lot of ways to be
included in the company.
Thomas Banks,
Catapult participant

• Promotion of a better understanding
and the benefits of including young
people of all abilities

• Auslan volunteers on site
The Adelaide Festival’s Accessibility
Initiative focuses on improving access
for people with specific access
requirements to performances,
events, venues and services. In
2012, the organisation implemented
a range of initiatives to ensure its
events were inclusive of the broadest
possible audience and in the process
established an Australian benchmark
for best practice.

Some of Adelaide Festival’s
initiatives included regular access
updates, large text programs, Auslan
consultants, the inclusion of Auslan
volunteers and wheelchairs. All
Adelaide Writers’ Week sessions
were broadcast on ABC Radio
National so they could be enjoyed
online by blind and vision impaired
patrons or patrons with limited
mobility.

Partnered by the Disability and Arts
Transition Team (DATT), Adelaide
Festival committed significant
financial and human resources to
deliver a comprehensive suite of
access initiatives. A longer-term
commitment to accessibility was
developed and implemented by
the Festival after a successful
pilot program in 2010. In 2011
an Accessibility Coordinator was
appointed to identify connections
between presented works and
patrons’ specific access needs.

The website, app and Auslan
video content were all created
in consultation with people with
disabilities, carers and interpreters.
The 2012 Festival program was
available in multiple formats, including
hard copy, interactive PDF, large print
text only and audio formats.

Adelaide Festival worked extensively
with access expert Gaelle Mellis from
DATT to ensure ongoing consultation
throughout planning and delivery. The
Festival also invited other key people
within leading access groups to act as
advocates. Together they worked to
improve access to programs, services
and venues.

34

AbaF Gold Book 2012

• Large print and audio format
programs

All of the improved access services
have generated enthusiastic feedback
from new and otherwise excluded
audiences. Adelaide Festival is
committed to further developing
its leadership position as an arts
organisation in identifying and
facilitating the delivery of access
and inclusion practices.

Image credit: Auslan interpreter at Writers Week. Photo: Shane Reid.

St Martins Youth Arts Theatre has built
a creative environment that genuinely
promotes the inclusion of children
and young people with disabilities.
The addition of an Access Officer
has led to a comprehensive Disability
Action Plan and a shift in core thinking
behind new access initiatives.
The initiatives the Access Officer has
helped develop include offering one
or two Auslan shows per season,
consulting with the vision-impaired
community and purchasing audio
description equipment.
Through its targeted programs
and projects, St Martins is also
building relationships with children
with disabilities and their carers by
creating meaningful and relevant
performances.

There is a focus throughout St
Martins on mentorship to help build
the capacity of young adults with
disabilities through consultation and
ongoing support. St Martins employs
people with disabilities in many ways,
including advertising on websites
used by people with disability and
developing an access intern role. The
Access Officer headhunts individuals
with disabilities when vacancies come
up and also sits on the interview panel.

• Staff training
• St Martins funded and supported
two young people with a disability to
attend the Australia Council forum
on engaging young audiences to
speak about their experiences

Over the last two years, the vision
of St Martins has undergone a
dramatic shift. With the engagement
of an Access Officer, the concept of
an inclusive environment has been
embraced and firmly embedded into
the guiding philosophy, staff action,
programs and projects of St Martins
Youth Arts Centre.

The popular Catapult 18+ program
has attracted young theatre makers,
including a small group with a range
of disabilities who are continually
consulted in order to best support
them. Another inclusive project has
been Accidentally Ugly for which
children aged 5 to 12 who are deaf
or hearing impaired work alongside
hearing children.

Being part of Beyond the Square’s
ruckus ensemble means everything to
(my son) Gerard as he loves acting so
much and he is most happy when he
gets to perform and make others laugh.

Social inclusion is our raison d’etre!
We make art with people from all
over Tasmania to build bridges of
understanding across the community.
We believe this will help to make the
world a kinder and more creative place.

Beyond the Square is essential
for people with a disability to gain
access to a creative outlet. They
richly deserve this as does anyone
else. They touch people’s hearts with
their endearing performances and
remind us all about the power
of inclusive and creative pursuits.

Jami Bladel,
Artistic Director,
Kickstart Arts

Ann O’Dwyer, mother of
ensemble member, Gerard

Outcomes for access
• Employment of a Creative Director
to guide access programs

Beyond the Square is Riverside
Theatre’s inclusive arts program
for people with disabilities. The
program creatively explores ideas,
embraces difference and challenges
preconceptions through workshops,
performances and events. Riverside
Theatre is the only mainstream
theatre company in Australia to
have both an extensive creative arts
program for people with disabilities
and a Creative Director assigned to
the development of this program.
Riverside’s Workshops in the
Arts for People with a Disability
(WAPD) program had been running
successfully for 15 years. It serves
the need for creative outlets, social
interaction, self-expression and
confidence building for people with
a disability across Western Sydney
through weekly drama workshops.
As the program has grown, a need
was identified for someone to give the
program direction and a new level of
sophistication. Riverside and Alison
Richardson (from Accessible Arts)
successfully applied for a Strategic
Industries grant from ArtsNSW. This,
coupled with funding from Parramatta
Council, enabled Alison to work as a
Creative Director alongside Gerard

36

AbaF Gold Book 2012

O’Dwyer, a young, talented person
with a disability, to further develop the
WAPD program.

Outcomes for access

In 2011 the new rebranded program,
Beyond the Square, was realised.
Currently in its second year it is
already creating increased performing
and visual arts opportunities for
people with disabilities.

• Workshop programs that encourage
participation in the arts for people
with disabilities

Beyond the Square encourages
the development of performers,
filmmakers and artists through an
extensive workshop program. The
program has a renewed focus on
developing a sense of community
through performances such as
Beyond ABBA (engaging over
60 people with moderate to high
intellectual needs), social functions
and fundraisers.

• Performances and fundraisers
to further develop programs

• Employment of a Creative Director
to guide access programs

• Employment of people with
disabilities to work directly with
Beyond The Square

Through performances, programs and
employment opportunities, Riverside
Theatre’s commitment to access
continues to go beyond compliance,
enabling everyone to reach their full
potential in the arts world.

Kickstart Arts is enjoying its 20th
year as a successful contemporary
community arts production company
with a focus on social inclusion. It is
a place where people with disabilities
can feel safe to explore and develop
their creative potential by participating
in social and cultural activities.
Three program areas highlight
Kickstart Arts’ recent achievements
in the area of disability access and
social inclusion.
The first program, Kickstart’s
partnership with Headway, began in
2009. Together they have produced
three contemporary art projects that
have engaged people with acquired
brain injury. The artworks have not
only been emotionally challenging,
they have also successfully raised
awareness of acquired brain injury
in the community.
Kickstart’s second program, The
Happiness Project, is an outreach
arts space that provides access
to contemporary arts and cultural
experiences for people with disabilities
in regional Tasmania. The project also
exists online, the most accessible
space, through the creation of linked
interactive digital artworks.

The third program area is the
Teaching Artist in Residence Program
(TARP), which is linked to the
Kickstart Arts Centre, a thriving hub
for socially inclusive community arts
and cultural development programs.
TARP was the first initiative to engage
people with disabilities at Kickstart.
Selected professional artists provide
arts workshops for community
participants through an in-studio
teaching program across exciting
visual, digital and performing arts.

• Workshop programs that encourage
participation in the arts for people
with disabilities
• Employment of people with
disabilities to work directly with
Beyond The Square
• Performances and fundraisers to
further develop programs
• Hearing loops, wheelchair
accessible performance spaces and
dedicated parking spaces at venues

The work Kickstart Arts does in
advocating for improved access
to cultural experiences, both as
consumers and creators of arts for
people with disabilities, is central to
the organisation’s ethos. Through its
Disability Action Plan and policies,
they have provided for the needs of
people with disabilities in all of its
programs and projects. As a result,
Kickstart Arts projects continue to
challenge stereotypes and help
build bridges of better understanding
across the community.

Philanthropic giving is an important
source of income generation for
the arts. AbaF’s survey of private
sector support for the arts shows that
giving continues to increase (more
than 150% 2001 to 2010). Through
AbaF’s Australia Cultural Fund $10M
in donations have been granted to
artists and arts organisations. The
effort of artists and arts companies
to build relationships with donors
is delivering results and AbaF
commends the individuals and
organisations that have established
effective giving programs to reach
out to their community and connect
with donors.

Outcomes for access
• Promoting understanding within
the community of people with
disabilities
Contact Inc presents The Best
workshop series that encourages
young Brisbane people with
disabilities to explore their experiences
of love, dating, romance and sexuality.
It addresses important issues around
access to venues, meeting other
young people, friendship, relationships
and the perception of people with
disabilities in Brisbane.
The aim of the workshop series is
to engage young people (18 to 35)
who identify as having a disability
as well as professional artists and
disability support workers. The weekly
workshops are focused on sharing
experiences, sharing anecdotes
and offering insight into thoughts on
popular culture and social trends.
Over the six to ten week workshop
period, a facilitator curates ideas and
possible scenes to be shared in the
performance.
The Best performance is part party
and part social action. Participants
create a utopia for themselves and
the audience – an accessible, safe
and caring space where people of
all abilities are welcomed. It is an
intimate and engaging experience
where the participants deliver scenes
or moments of sharing with the
audience. The final performance of

38

AbaF Gold Book 2012

The Best is filmed and posted in an
accessible format online for young
people who are unable to attend due
to limited mobility or poor health.
The Best workshop series is the result
of a mentoring relationship between
Lenine Bourke (CEO and Artistic
Director of Contact Inc), the Canadian
organisation Mammalian Diving
Reflex and Thomas Banks, a young
artist with a disability. Contact Inc has
also partnered with a local access
organisation, Access Arts to ensure
all access needs are met.

• Empowerment of participants
through storytelling
• Engagement of audiences and
a sense of belonging for those
at the performance and those
viewing online
• Improvements in physical
access to the venue

Through devising, developing and
delivering The Best, Contact Inc has
learned a great deal about engaging
and working with people with
disabilities and this has helped with
the development of their Disability
Action Plan. The project has also
provided a powerful way for young
people to be able to share their
stories and step up into leadership
roles within their community.

There is an undoubted artistic
renaissance in Queensland. Cultural
precincts are important. We need
buildings. Build them and the
people will come. This building will
ensure that the QSO can make the
great leap forward. It will become a
centre for excellence in music. It will
inspire a wealth of musical talent in
Queensland and attract the finest
musicians from around the world.

I believe that the arts have an
important contribution to make to
our society, as a source of enjoyment
and social communication as well
as a source of the creative energy
Australia must have to develop into
a successful and innovative economy
which can prosper in the years ahead.
David Griffiths,
board member and donor

Harold Mitchell, AC, leading donor
to Building for the Future campaign

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• Solidified relationships with current
donors and identified new donors

• The funding received through
the Annual Giving Program helps
keep Festival tickets affordable
for audiences

• Increased confidence in fundraising
Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s
(QSO) Building for the Future
campaign aims to raise substantial
funds towards a new home. The
success of the campaign will mean
a sustainable future for the state’s
flagship performing arts company.
The new home will represent a
coming-of-age both for the QSO and
the arts in Queensland. The building
will be situated in the heart of the
South Bank cultural precinct and will
offer excellent access for all visitors.
A purpose built, state-of-the-art
rehearsal and performance studio
will accommodate up to 450 audience
members and orchestra musicians.
Additionally, the ground floor has
been designed to be a hub of creative
activity with guest artists’ suites, four
practice rooms, a recording studio
and administration suites.

The excitement generated by a
new home, the ambience of the
cultural precinct, the novel programs
in the performance studio and the
opportunity to name a space within
the building encouraged prospective
donors to contribute and raise the
level of their giving.
The Building for the Future campaign
provided an opportunity to develop
new relationships and demonstrate
that support for the QSO was good for
the community and provide a worthy
place to invest philanthropic dollars.
The QSO has a reputation for the
highest quality performances that
attract high quality donors. The many
generous contributors to the Building
for the Future campaign have created
a sustainable future for a Queensland
performing arts icon.

• Funds for a home for the QSO in
the South Bank cultural precinct
How they made it work
• A detailed communication strategy
developed early in the campaign
• A high profile launch with portable
electronic funds transfer units in
the concert hall foyer for guests to
make donations to the campaign
on the night
• A double page feature on the
campaign in the QSO newsletter
that acknowledged all donors and
included a donation form

AbaF Gold Book 2012

As well as an income stream,
the Annual Giving Program has
developed deeper relationships with
Festival audiences and has engaged
them throughout the year. This
ongoing communication (through
a series of launches, donor events,
personal conversations and mail-outs)
has shown donors that they are truly
valued at all times and not just when
the Festival requires their support.
The Festival believes that the key
to the success of its Annual Giving
Program is nurturing strong and
mutually beneficial relationships.
Donors’ contributions are aligned
to either the Festival’s international
works or the Vital Stages programs.
Both of these areas contribute
significantly to the positive impact
the Festival has in the community.

QSO’s Building for the Future campaign
began with a detailed strategy. The first
step was a brochure that clearly set
out the urgency and need behind the
initiative, the dollars required and the
outcomes that success could achieve.
A high profile launch created interest
in the campaign.

40

The Perth International Arts Festival
not only has significant ambition,
it operates in a market in which
competition for funds is intense.
In order to diversify and develop its
funding base (which includes box
office sales, corporate partnerships
and government support) the
Festival established its Annual
Giving Program.

Image credit: QSO musicians at work and at play (campaign launch). Photo: Christian Aas.

In addition to their financial
assistance, donors have proven to
be the Festival’s best ticket buyers
and source of word-of-mouth support.
They often share their expectations
for the Festival as well as their
criticisms. In this way alone, they
are invaluable.
In return, top-level Festival staff are
always made available to donors
at events. This ensures that donors
feel connected to the people and
the content of the Festival. It also
demonstrates to donors that staff
members care about the Annual
Giving Program and this in turn
creates confidence their donation
will be used well.

• With more personal contact
between staff and donors, the
Festival has a deeper connection
to its audiences
How they made it work
• Events are held where donors
can meet Festival staff
• Donors are engaged throughout
the year, not just leading up to
the Festival
• Donor contributions are aligned to
the Festival’s international works
or the Vital Stages programs
• There are five levels of donation
offered, from $500 to $10,000

Broad staff engagement and a full
calendar of donor events have made
private giving central to the Festival’s
long-term vision and have ensured
the Perth Festival can continue to
offer courageous work of the highest
international standard to the people
of its city.

The generosity of Adelaide Hills
businesses, individuals and
community organisations has
been outstanding and provided
the impetus for the organisers to
persevere and be successful.

The structure of recruitment to the
program has meant that I am helping
Ten Days every time I talk to friends,
family and clients about my involvement.
It also enables me to invite them to
come along to a monthly networking
night to experience it themselves. No
other business networking group allows
this flexibility for its members. It also
means I can demonstrate effectively my
passion for the program.

• Support for the festival
• Relationship building with
businesses and a new tier of support

• Exposure for local and
international artists
The 2012 Adelaide Hills International
Sculpture Symposium brought
together eight internationally
acclaimed sculptors to create stone
sculptures for permanent placement
in the Adelaide Hills. The artworks
became the start of a significant
sculpture trail and visitors were invited
to watch the works evolve.
This initiative was the work of
Adelaide Hills International Sculpture
Symposium (AHISS), a not-for-profit
community organisation formed
in 2010 to develop an art initiative
for both Adelaide Hills and South
Australia. It began with internationally
recognised sculptor and Adelaide
Hills resident Silvio Apponyi’s dream
to ‘enrich the Hills with sculpture’.
Silvio gathered local residents and
friends together to form an Executive
Committee for the Symposium to
make his dream a reality.
The Committee knew it was essential
that they secure financial support,
engagement and involvement
from the community in the project.
Successful presentations were made
to both the Adelaide Hills Council
and the District Council of Mt Barker
which resulted in seed funding. This
gave AHISS some financial credibility
before seeking private sector funding.

42

AbaF Gold Book 2012

The broader community was invited to
show support by becoming a member
of AHISS and make a tax-deductible
donation, become a supporter or
commission a sculpture. Ultimately
the organisation’s giving program was
critical in making the dream a reality.

• Momentum for similar projects
in the area

The 20-day Sculpture Symposium
was held in April 2012 in the
magnificent setting of The Cedars
at Hahndorf, the estate of iconic
Australian artist Hans Heysen.
Entry was by gold coin donation
which made the event accessible
to everyone.

• Connecting with local businesses,
government and community for
support

The Symposium exceeded the
organisers’ expectations and was
embraced by South Australians with
over 12,000 people visiting and
engaging in the creation process.
Thanks to the success of the giving
program and the generosity of local
businesses and individuals the Hills
are now home to eight incredible new
works of art.

Image credit: Happy Dreamer by Silvio Apponyi. Photo: Peter Hoare.

Ten Days on the Island is Tasmania’s
state wide arts festival. In 2010
CBD² was established, an informal
networking group connecting small
to medium businesses in Hobart to
build contacts and exchange valuable
knowledge and skills with the festival.
CBD² members are invited to join and
contribute to the funding of a specific
festival event.
Prior to CBD², Ten Days already had
well-established donor programs in
place which included Philos Patrons,
a high level support program, Ten
Days Islanders, a program with a
lower minimum donation level and
the recently added Young Islanders
program which connects with people
aged under 26.
In August 2010 a Hobart-based small
business owner and operator (Pete
Dillon from Poolquip) approached Ten
Days to discuss how small to medium
sized enterprises could become
involved and financially support the
festival. His interest revealed a similar
desire for other small businesses to
support the arts. After conversations
between Ten Days and local
businesses, CBD² was formed.

The founding members and Ten Days
agreed that the program would grow
its membership base through word
of mouth advertising. Each member
is encouraged to nominate other
business people to become involved,
thereby ‘squaring’ the membership.
Using a direct approach and peer-topeer advocacy has added an element
of exclusivity, which in turn generates
interest in the program.
Two levels of giving are offered in
the program and each CBD² member
is paired with a specific show in the
festival, which has generated a strong
connection between each business
and their event. While individual
donations might seem small in the
scale of the festival, collectively the
CBD² members make significant
difference and are helping make the
2013 festival a success.

• Exposure for the festival through
business networks
How they made it work
• Peer-to-peer asking between
businesses
• Fundraising functions and
monthly networking events
• Display material for business
people acknowledging their
membership

43

AbaF Giving Award

Winner

AbaF Giving Award

Winner

Heide Museum of Modern Art

Victoria

Four Winds Festival

New South Wales

Our partnership acknowledges the
essential role of philanthropy and
private benefaction in the history and
evolution of Heide and the ongoing
work of ANZ Trustees in inspiring and
growing philanthropy as a means of
bringing the wishes and charitable
interests of private individuals into
the life of great social and cultural
organisations.

We wanted to be more than just an
outstanding music festival. When
we articulated our aspiration to
create a cultural hub for our region,
the financial support started to flow.
Governments and supporters have
invested in our vision to transform this
temporary site into Nature’s Concert
Hall for music lovers and performers.
Sheena Boughen,
Chair, Four Winds Festival

Jason Smith,
Heide Director & CEO

Heide Museum of Modern Art
and ANZ Trustees have initiated
a philanthropic partnership that
enhances the Museum’s capacity
to conserve and display its core
collection. They have developed
a three-year program – Preserving,
Presenting and Growing – which
will assist the Museum to work
toward operational and financial
sustainability.

Trust had previously made during
the construction and subsequent
redevelopment of Heide.

The program aims to improve
the Museum’s capacity through
conservation of the collection and
through a robust exhibition schedule
that enables public and scholarly
access to its works. The program also
aims to grow the collection through
the strategic acquisition of new works.

The Preserving, Presenting, and
Growing program also drew new
audiences and supporters to Heide
by enabling the display of many works
that had rarely been seen or not seen
at all due to their condition. In terms
of value, it contributed a substantial
19% to the organisation’s annual total
private sector income.

Heide was built on the philanthropic
gestures of John and Sunday Reed.
Both Heide and ANZ Trustees work
on the philosophy that philanthropy
generates philanthropy. Together they
work to grow philanthropy as a means
of bringing the charitable interests
of private individuals into the life of
cultural organisations.

The partnership between Heide and
ANZ Trustees acknowledges the
essential role of philanthropy and
private benefaction in the history and
evolution of Heide, its commitment
to artists and the development of
audiences for art.

With the Preserving, Presenting,
and Growing grant, ANZ Trustees
made a significant contribution that
helped Heide increase its reach,
inspire people and improve its ability
to leverage additional support from
individuals and other organisations.

As trustee of the Truby and Florence
Williams Charitable Trust, ANZ
Trustees is building on three gifts the

44

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Image credit: Documentation. Photo: Fred Kroh.

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• A strengthened relationship with
the Museum’s primary conservator

• A demonstration of Four Winds’
ability to successfully manage
and deliver a major project

• An increased capacity to conserve
a significant proportion of the
collection
• Increased visitation to Heide due
to an expanded and marketed
collection
How they made it work
• Private events and engagement
with ANZ Trustees’ directors, major
stakeholders, executives and staff
to broaden exposure

For 21 years, Four Winds has
presented world-class performances
and commissioned Australian
music and world premieres, all from
temporary facilities. A successful
fundraising drive led to the
construction of Nature’s Concert Hall,
an open-air venue which incorporates
a sound shell (opened in 2012)
as well as a performance pavilion
and supporting infrastructure to be
completed in 2013.
Nature’s Concert Hall will not only
support future Four Winds classical
festivals, it will give the region a
high quality venue for a range of
artistic endeavours. Cinema, dance,
residencies, community events and
world-renowned performers can now
be hosted in a space that celebrates
nature and music alike.

successful completion of the sound
shell in 2012. Planning for the second
stage of Nature’s Concert Hall is also
already well advanced.
The giving project gave Four Winds
the opportunity to communicate its
vision for the future and invite its
audience to cement their strong
emotional connection to the
organisation in a practical way through
contributions. The clear vision of Four
Winds encouraged new relationships
and a constant source of donations.
The Sound Shell Infrastructure
project and the giving project which
supported and stimulated its formation
has been critical to the expansion of
Four Winds. It was a manifestation
of a dream that the local community
had held for many years and will be
enjoyed for many years to come.

Four Winds engaged Philanthropy
Squared, a professional fundraising
company to guide them through the
fundraising process. Fundraising
started at the 2010 biennial Easter
festival. The combination of 220
individual donors, an anonymous
dollar for dollar challenge grant as
well as contributions from Arts NSW
and the federal government led to the

Image credit: Sound Shell launch. Photo: Richard Green.

• Credibility with granting bodies
and potential individual donors
• Increased number of individual
donors
• Added appeal for national and
international performers to play
in a new open-air venue
• Training opportunities for young
people in stage management
and technical operations
• Confidence to launch another
opportunity for individual donor
giving – The Symphony of
Supporters campaign
How they made it work
• The engagement of a professional
fundraising company (Philanthropy
Squared) to provide advice and
guidance
• The establishment of professional
teams for communications,
legal, fundraising, building and
construction, acoustic and technical
requirements
• 220 donors plus government
support
• Cox Richardson Architects and
KPMG pro bono support

45

JBWere
Philanthropy
Leadership Award

JBWere Philanthropy Leadership Award

Patrick Corrigan AM

For an individual, family,
group, foundation or other
entity that through their
leadership, advocacy,
practice and example has
encouraged increased
philanthropic giving to
Australia’s cultural life.

JBWere has shared a long
relationship with AbaF to honour
individuals who provide their tireless
dedication and commitment to the
arts. Through this dedication and
commitment, Australian arts and
culture have a profound and lasting
impact on the communities we live in.
As a leader in delivering first class
investment advice and philanthropic
services, JBWere is proud to
recognise the leaders in philanthropy
to the arts for the difference they
make within the arts community.

For over 40 years, Patrick Corrigan
has developed and managed
successful businesses within the
freight industry and at the same time
has been contributing to the arts and
inspiring others to do likewise.

through one of the country’s richest art
prizes. His passion is not limited to the
visual arts, however, with the Patrick
Corrigan Foundation also supporting
emerging jazz musicians through
scholarships for the past five years.

Patrick’s leadership in the field of
philanthropy has been by example,
donating considerable funds and
works of art to institutions around the
country. In just one example, during
his time as Chairman of the Gold
Coast City Gallery he convinced
other collectors and artists to donate
double the amount of his own
significant contributions.

Patrick’s love of collecting began in
his childhood and has never ceased.
His many generous gifts to institutions
have included the most significant
collection of pictorial bookplates
ever assembled in Australia, given
to the Art Gallery of New South
Wales in 1995 and a collection of
81 valuable Australian indigenous
artworks donated to Bond University
in 2007. He also actively supports
the University of Queensland Art
Museum, the National Portrait Gallery,
the National Gallery of Australia and
the National Gallery of Victoria.

As well as financial support, Patrick
has given his time and business
skills to develop sponsorship and
fundraising programs that have
greatly benefitted the Arts Centre
Gold Coast. He was instrumental in
establishing their development office
and benefactor program, becoming
the first silver level benefactor whilst
encouraging many friends and
colleagues to also join.
Since 2008, in his role as chairman
of the judging panel and key
advisor for the Qantas Foundation
Encouragement of Australian
Contemporary Art Award, Patrick has
helped to support talented artists

acknowledged in 2000 when he
was made a Member of the Order
of Australia.
Patrick’s support for the arts has been
demonstrated through his resources
and tireless commitment – and
through his leadership that has led so
many others to follow his example.

Philanthropy, for me, is not ‘hard
work’ – it is a pleasure. Knowing the
satisfaction it is finally going to bring
to so many people in the arts.
Patrick Corrigan

As well as collecting, Patrick is an
enthusiastic supporter of young
and emerging artists. This has
been demonstrated through the
various grants he has set in motion,
his generosity to artists seeking
assistance and his willingness to
acquire new works.
Patrick Corrigan’s invaluable
contribution to our national
cultural landscape was formally

Kim Williams AM
The arts in all their forms, and in
my case the visual arts, play a
crucial role in Australia’s cultural
infrastructure. We are fortunate that
so many committed, interesting
people work together with creativity
and vision to forge an alliance
between the public and private
sectors - just look at what suddenly
becomes possible!
Gerard Vaughan

The National Gallery of Victoria is not
only Australia’s longest established
and largest public art gallery; in 2011
it was again the most attended gallery
in the country. Gerard Vaughan’s
drive and talent for building successful
relationships with government, donors
and the business community, as well
as the support he has won in the
broader community, were key factors
behind the NGV’s success.
From his appointment as Director
in 1999, Gerard provided dynamic
leadership in the face of extraordinary
challenges. The first was overseeing
the redevelopment of the NGV on
two separate sites (The Ian Potter
Centre: NGV Australia at Federation
Square and NGV International on St
Kida Road) and raising the significant
funds needed for this through a
corporate and donors program. This
was achieved through launching the
Gallery Campaign in 2000, which
not only exceeded its target but also
identified a new group of important
Gallery supporters. This campaign
was the most successful of its kind in
the history of Australian visual arts.
Masterpieces for Melbourne,
launched in 2008, was the NGV’s
next major campaign to raise money
for the acquisition of works of art,
which led to the engagement of a

48

AbaF Gold Book 2012

new, wider group of major donors.
In addition, significant partnerships
with leading companies including the
Foster’s Group, Qantas, Macquarie
Bank, Ernst & Young and MercedesBenz, have been transforming.

While greatly improving the NGV’s
financial position, Gerard built
enormous community enthusiasm
and diversified the gallery’s reach
through blockbuster exhibitions,
night openings and family spaces.

In 2004, the NGV launched its
blockbuster Melbourne Winter
Masterpieces series, supported by
the Government of Victoria through
the Victorian Major Events Company.
This immensely popular series has
brought many exhibitions to Australia
for the first time and attracted more
than 2 million local, interstate and
international visitors, bringing an
independently assessed economic
benefit to Victoria in excess of $150
million. The success of the series is
a credit to Gerard’s passion and his
capacity for building partnerships with
international institutions.

Gerard was awarded a Centenary
Medal in 2001 for outstanding service
to museum and arts management and
in 2011 he was made a Member of the
Order of Australia. The NGV prospered
under his devoted stewardship and is
acknowledged as Australia’s premier
public visual arts institution.

Having trained as a musician, Kim
Williams has acknowledged the
importance of the arts in his long
and proud history of leadership with
Australian business and cultural
organisations. In his many and varied
roles, he has championed the arts
through public and private advocacy.
Since returning from Italy in the
1970s where he worked with Luciano
Berio, Italy’s leading composer, Kim
has held many influential positions
in Australia’s arts sector, including
Chief Executive of the Australian
Film Commission, and Southern Star
Entertainment and as foundation
chairman of the Australian Film
Corporation – the principal funding
body for original film and television
for 20 years from 1988. Since 2005
he has has been Chairman of the
Sydney Opera House Trust.

increased audiences. After leaving
Musica Viva he was a board member
and eventually chairman.

services to the arts, culture and
policy advocacy in Australia and
internationally.

Kim’s 10 year leadership at Foxtel
has created an enduring legacy.
To this day, Foxtel commissions
and promotes a very wide offering
of Australian film, drama and
music. Foxtel’s STUDIO, Australia’s
subscription service dedicated
to the arts, would not have been
possible without Kim’s firm belief
and commitment to the idea that
Australia’s creative arts deserve
wide exposure. STUDIO was realised
through relationships that Kim built
with business and arts organisations
across Australia.

While inspiring others to support the
arts, Kim is also a major donor in his
own right, having regularly made large
gifts to many of Australia’s cultural
institutions as well as commissioning
new works by Australian composers
and playrights.

Through Kim, Foxtel has been a
strong supporter of arts events and
organisations and has established
significant scholarships that recognise
the importance of new voices in the
cultural landscape.

As well as overseeing these
initiatives, Gerard worked tirelessly
to consolidate relationships with
existing benefactors and reach out to
the wider community. This involved
a highly strategic approach including
focused asking, naming rights, special
events, preview evenings, private
functions and special exhibitions for
corporate entertainment.

Kim has been a cultural beacon for
business through his chairmanship
of boards, including the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney
Opera House. He regards Musica Viva
as his most enduring relationship with
the performing arts and, as its General
Manager, Kim worked tirelessly to
improve music education in schools.
At the same time he created a wealth
of opportunities for performing artists
and composers and substantially

Kim was made a Member of the
Order of Australia in 2006 for his
service to arts administration through
executive roles with a number of
cultural organisations, his contribution
to music education and arts-related
public policy. In 2009 he was awarded
a Doctorate of Letters honoris
causa by Macquarie University for

As a lifelong champion of the arts,
Kim Williams has led by example –
through his distinguished career in
the arts and entertainment industry,
his generosity and his advocacy to
governments and the corporate sector.
His unique history as both artist and
corporate leader has enabled him to
demonstrate harmonious opportunities
that the arts and business worlds
present to each other.

Much of what I know about life and
management I learnt from music…
It was in the arts that I learnt to never
ever give up – to keep on trying and
to come at a problem from a variety
of angles until a solution is found.
Kim Williams

49

Visy
Environmental
Sustainability
Award

Visy Environmental Sustainability Award

Winner

Sydney Theatre Company
and Greening the Wharf partners

National and
New South Wales
Climate change is the most pressing
challenge facing the human race
today. One of the roles of art is
to imagine the future. To do this
effectively it must be both visionary
and practical. We believe Greening
the Wharf not only delivers enormous
practical outcomes for Sydney
Theatre Company but offers a vision of
how we might all creatively embrace
the challenge and opportunities that
climate change presents.

For partnerships between
businesses and the arts that
contribute to environmental
sustainability.
Developed in collaboration
with the Banksia
Environmental Foundation.

Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett,
Co-Artistic Directors, STC
AbaF is honoured to be supported by
Visy, a leader in environmental and
sustainability initiatives. Through the
Visy Environmental Sustainability
Award, AbaF and Visy work together
to encourage and acknowledge
business and arts partnerships that
demonstrate the role arts can play in
achieving positive outcomes for the
environment.

Sydney Theatre Company (STC)
has transformed the Wharf into an
excellent example of environmental
practice, supported by a unique
private and public partnership. The
Greening the Wharf project has
established STC as a world leader in
the arts in this crucial area.

waste handling and recycling systems,
wide-ranging water usage reduction
and rainwater harvesting systems and
a ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ ethos in
theatre design. There has also been
a significant shift to include a focus
on programming that deals with the
impact of climate change.

When STC Artistic Directors
Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett
were appointed, they came with
a strong commitment to improve
environmental sustainability. After
extensive research, STC committed to
‘Green the Wharf’ through one of the
most comprehensive environmental
programs of any performing arts
company internationally.

Through Greening the Wharf,
sustainability principles are now
integrated into business planning
and decision making at all levels
within STC. These principles have
not only delivered practical outcomes
internally, they offer an example to
other arts organisations of how to
creatively embrace the challenges
of climate change.

• Shi’s Family Foundation in
partnership with The University
of NSW
• Cameron and Illse O’Reilly
• Peter Hall and Laura Smith
• David and Claire Paradice

STC’s Greening the Wharf project
was funded by unique private
and public partnerships involving
philanthropy, corporate, university
support and Federal and State
government funding, supplemented
by significant in-kind corporate and
support for various services and
items. The success of the project
was reliant on the shared vision
and cooperation of 25 stakeholders,
which made the implementation both
inspiring and challenging.

Government partners:
• Australian Government –
Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and
• Communities
• NSW Government –
Communities Arts NSW
• NSW Government –
Department of Environment,
Climate Change and Water

Image credit: John Nolan, Lisa Nolan, Elizabeth Rogers, Andrew Upton, Cate Blanchett at an
event to formally launch the new rainwater harvesting and reticulation system at the Wharf, 2011.
Photo: Grant Sparkes-Carroll.

Philanthropic partners

Benefits for the arts organisation
• A demonstration of active arts
leadership on climate change
Benefits for the business
• High profile publicity and leveraging
with high profile Artistic Directors
Outcomes for the environment
• Creation of a green arts precinct
with a reduction in energy and
water use as well as carbon
emissions
• A demonstration of the measures
taken and encouragement for
others to do the same

51

Visy Environmental Sustainability Award

Winner

Queensland Museum and ENERGEX

Queensland

Australia Council
Young and Emerging
Artists Award

ENERGEX and the Queensland
Museum have worked together to
create ENERGEX Playasaurus Place
as an inviting community exhibit
which demonstrates in practical ways
how the community can make smart
energy choices for their lifestyles.
Initiatives such as the ENERGEX
Energy Action Wall empower the
community to have a positive and
sustainable impact by making a
written commitment to use electricity
wisely in their daily routine.

For partnerships between
businesses and arts and
cultural organisations
that help to build
skills, experience and
opportunities for young
and emerging artists.

Terry Effeney, CEO, ENERGEX
The Australia Council for the Arts
supports Australia’s arts by funding,
strengthening and developing the
arts sector. Through the Australia
Council Young and Emerging Artists
Award and a program of residencies,
commissions, mentoring and online
programs, the Australia Council is
working to build the next generation
of Australian artists. The AbaF Awards
recognise business partnerships with
the arts that share this commitment.

Benefits for the arts organisation

The ENERGEX and Queensland
Museum (QM) partnership is
underpinned by a mutual desire
to instil an understanding that the
choices we make about energy use
now have an impact far into our
future. The physical expression of this
partnership is the iconic exhibition
ENERGEX Playasaurus Place
(EPP) at Queensland Museum and
Sciencentre (QM&S).
Currently in the fifth and final year of
a five-year agreement, the ENERGEX
and QM partnership is one that has
been continuously built upon. Initially
focused on developing and promoting
an energy themed exhibition, the
partners have shifted their focus
to achieving positive, long-term
environmental outcomes, through
object based learning and play.
In its original form, EPP educated
Queenslanders about the challenges
of a clean energy future by exploring
climate change, ancient animals and
plants. In January 2011, areas of
the Museum, including EPP, were
damaged by floods and temporarily
closed to the public.

including Megawatt, an exploration
of electricity in everyday life and
Bouncing Back from Disaster, an
exhibition that used content from firsthand accounts and objects collected
during the recent natural disasters.
ENERGEX and QM also worked
together to increase interactivity in
EPP through the incorporation of the
Energy Action Wall which provides
visitors with a hands on approach to
learning about energy.
Since re-opening on 20 January 2012,
over 500,000 people have visited
QM&S, including EPP and Bouncing
Back. QM has acknowledged the
support of ENERGEX through
marketing, exhibition signage,
program promotion and the QM
honour board.
Together, ENERGEX and Queensland
Museum have created an engaging,
dynamic exhibition space. Through
the ENERGEX Playasaurus
Place and associated education
resources, visitors continue to gain an
appreciation of energy, sustainability
and the importance of conserving our
natural environment.

During this time, the partners worked
together to plan improvements to
EPP. A new program of museum
experiences was also developed

• Support for EPP redevelopment,
Megawatt and Bouncing Back
experiences
• A collaborative partner to improve
and rework the exhibits while the
Museum was closed due to flooding
Benefits for the business
• Extensive marketing, exhibition
signage, program promotion
and the QM&S honour board
• Recognition as a good
corporate citizen
Outcomes for the community
• Visitors have gained a better
understanding of the importance
of making choices about how
people use energy
• The exhibition content is aligned
to the Australian school curriculum
and teachers and families are
supported with a range of
learning materials
• Through Energy Action Wall,
visitors are asked to commit to
behaviour in their homes that
reduces energy consumption
and promotes sustainable
energy practices

Image Credit:

Australia Council Young & Emerging Artist Award

Winner

Australia Council Young & Emerging Artist Award

Winner

West Australian Opera
and Wesfarmers

National and
Western Australia

Sculpture and Spatial Practice, School of Art, VCA,
The University of Melbourne and Lend Lease

Victoria

During my time as a young artist at
West Australian Opera I was lucky
enough to be a recipient of the
Wesfarmers Arts Scholarship. This
scholarship gave me the chance to
properly focus on the program, as
well as on my role of Pistola in their
production of Falstaff.

It introduced me to the possibility
of using alternate platforms – outside
of the gallery space – to exhibit work.
This project revealed that working
collaboratively greatly enriches
the creative process and enhances
the outcome.
Ben Taranto, student

Ryan Sharp,
2011 Wesfarmers Arts
Young Artist

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• Improved education programs

• Experience for students in
delivering public art

• Young artist development
• Increased community engagement
and audiences
This year marks 15 continuous years
of successful partnership between the
West Australian Opera (WAO), the
state’s flagship professional opera
company and Wesfarmers, one of
Australia’s largest public companies.
Wesfarmers has been the principal
partner of WAO since 1996.
Since it began, the relationship
has expanded to encompass the
commissioning of a new operatic
work, the development of an
extensive education program and
the reciprocal exchange of expertise
between Wesfarmers and WAO staff.
The partnership has also led to the
establishment of the Wesfarmers
Arts Young Artist Scholarship within
the Young Artist program. This
scholarship manifests Wesfarmers
and WAO’s shared focus on
ensuring the long term sustainability
of the arts in Western Australia
through supporting local talent. The
scholarship allows the recipient to
work full time in an intensive program
for one year with WAO. It is the only
program of its kind in Australia to
provide young artists with a stipend to
undertake professional development
unique to opera.

54

AbaF Gold Book 2012

This is a partnership of common
values and vision with both partners
committed to strong education and
development programs that help
individuals as well as their local
communities. Wesfarmers invests
in community engagement and
internal staff development to attract
and retain quality people across the
many professions relevant to their
business. Likewise, WAO’s mission is
to develop new artists to ensure the
vitality and relevance of opera.
Both partners believe in the
importance of investing in young
people and fostering community
pride. Together they have developed
a long and successful partnership
with both Wesfarmers and WAO
earning a reputation as industry
leaders in young artist support.

Benefits for the business
• Employee engagement, corporate
hospitality and networking
• Visibility in the community
• Positive brand alignment
How they made it work
• High levels of communication,
honesty and transparency
• Shared objectives and clearly
aligned expectations
• Progress meetings throughout
the year

Rising: the Victoria Harbour Young
Artist Initiative is the result of a
five-year partnership between the
property business, Lend Lease and
the Sculpture and Spatial Practice
(S&SP) discipline stream of the
School of Art at the Victorian College
of the Arts (VCA).
The project gives students at a
formative stage of their career the
opportunity to experience a real
world assignment, with all the
challenges and rewards of creating
art for public space.
Between five and eight second and
third year students are awarded
a commission for a four-week
temporary public art exhibition at
Victoria Harbour. Students work
directly with Lend Lease and City of
Melbourne representatives to ensure
their artworks comply with technical
and safety standards.

is committed to offering ambitious
practical experience for students to
develop their art practice.
The project has made a significant
contribution to the students’ academic
and professional artistic success. As
well as receiving top marks and prizes,
many students have continued to
exhibit in artist run or public galleries.
This project is a model example of
the VCA’s goal to create dynamic
links with industry partners. For Lend
Lease, the project has generated
excellent feedback from residents
and visitors to Docklands.

• Skill building for students including
negotiation, managing budgets and
meeting deadlines
• Engagement with industry partners
Benefits for the business
• Positive feedback from residents
and visitors
• Opportunity to demonstrate
support for emerging artists
How they made it work
• Designing the project structure
to align with an academic
semester made it easy to roll
out and maintain
• All stakeholders are included
early in the process
• An analysis of real time-based
costs and required actions
has allowed the budget to be
realistically managed throughout
the project

Both partners share a vision for the
role of temporary and ephemeral art
in a public context and specifically
the contribution of art to Victoria
Harbour’s sense of community. Lend
Lease has a policy of supporting
emerging artists considering a career
in public art, while the S&SP stream

Partnering with artisan to create
the Emerging Curator Mentorship
program has surpassed our
expectations by a country mile.
BCM is very proud to be part of
developing curatorial talent and
contributing to the arts community
in such a powerful way.

“I’m an elite rugby league player, and
the toughest person I know is a
dancer. From the age of eleven my
brother knew he wanted to dance.
Which is fine. But when you grow up
in a small town like Cootamundra,
population 5000 give or take, there
are smoother paths and indeed more
popular dreams to chase. When I
was heading off on tours training
with teammates Tom was at home
practising alone. And when we’d
come back, he’d be practising still.”

Paul Cornwell,
Managing Partner, BCM

Joe Bradley, Canberra Raiders
(excerpt from letter)

Benefits for the arts organisation
• The opportunity to mentor, develop
and promote a talented curator

The BCM Emerging Curator
Mentorship supports the professional
development of an emerging curator
in the fields of craft and design.
The mentorship is the result of a
partnership between BCM, one
of Australia’s largest advertising
agencies and artisan, a not-for-profit
organisation that promotes quality
craftsmanship and design.
The partnership was created in 2011
on the strength of BCM’s interest
in the arts and the value it places
on creative thinking. The Emerging
Curator Mentorship arose from
discussions between the two partners
regarding the development of future
arts leaders with a focus on curating.
Thanks to this partnership, artisan
is able to provide mentorship for
three years for an emerging currator.
Over that time the curator works with
experienced mentors and acquires
skills, knowledge and experience
through the development of exhibition
programs for BCM’s in-house
Crucible Gallery. The curator also
has the opportunity to present curator
talks to large audiences at each
exhibition opening.

56

AbaF Gold Book 2012

BCM is a business that depends on
generating new ideas; having an
evolving exhibition program within its
workplace has provided a stimulating
work environment for its staff. BCM
receives three high quality exhibitions
each year for its gallery, which it is
able to show to staff, clients and
other partners.
An additional benefit of this
partnership is that new audiences
have been generated for the craft and
design sector as well as an additional
outlet in which craft and design
practitioners can exhibit. As a result,
the partnership has also garnered
media attention and a positive
workplace environment for both BCM
and artisan staff.
The BCM Emerging Curator
Mentorship program has given artisan
and BCM the opportunity to explore
a new arts business model that not
only develops future arts leaders and
curators, but also provides exhibition
opportunities for Queensland’s artists.

• The opportunity to partner with
a leading creative business to
support and grow the craft and
design sector
• An additional avenue for craft and
design practitioners to exhibit work
Benefits for the business
• A dedicated Gallery Curator
to schedule, develop and
coordinate exhibitions for the
BCM Crucible Gallery
• An innovative approach to
incorporating craft and design
exhibitions into the work
environment
How they made it work
• artisan undertakes a thorough
candidate selection process with
final candidates presented to
BCM for review.
• Evaluation metrics have been
developed to monitor the success
of the partnership and mentoring
program on an ongoing basis

Benefits for the arts organisation
• Advice on how to structure an
effective direct marketing campaign
Thanks to a partnership between The
Works, a Sydney based advertising
agency and Sydney Dance Company
(SDC), young dance graduates now
have a chance to gain experience at
the highest level.
In 2011, the director of The Works
witnessed the amazing young talent
on display in the SDC rehearsal
studio. When he learned that
SDC was hoping to create more
opportunities for emerging dancers, he
offered The Works’ assistance through
a new direct marketing campaign.
SDC had an immediate need for
such a campaign. Tom Bradley, a
young dance graduate who grew up
in Cootamundra in rural New South
Wales, had been the recipient of a
three-month scholarship funded by
FOXTEL. SDC wanted to offer him
ongoing employment but did not have
the funds.
As part of their campaign preparation,
The Works discovered that Tom had
a brother who was in the Canberra
Raiders Rugby League elite sports
program. The brothers’ talent and
promising future highlighted a
contrast between the opportunities
that exist for young people in sport
compared to dance.

The Works engaged the support of
the Canberra Raiders which was
pleased to assist SDC by distributing
a letter on their letterhead from Tom’s
brother Joe stating how he was lucky
enough to have a chance to follow
his dream into professional rugby, but
that it was much harder for his brother
to have the same opportunities
in dance. The heartfelt letter also
contained an honest request for
people to support his brother’s dream
and donate to a fund allowing him
to continue on his path towards
becoming a professional dancer.
An innovative social media campaign
was also developed and implemented
– the first time SDC had used social
media as a fundraising tool.

• Intellectual property from a
copywriter, marketing creatives
and a social media expert

The campaign target was raised
and Tom Bradley is now employed
full time by SDC. A longer-term goal
of growing a program to give other
talented, young emerging dancers the
same opportunity is now in place.

• Printing of direct marketing
collateral
• Support for new talent
Benefits for the business
• The opportunity to collaborate
with other creative thinkers
• Tickets to openings and
performances
• A corporate dance class for
40 people
How they made it work
• Regular contact between the
Director of The Works and
SDC Development Manager
• Regular meetings with teams
from both groups

57

Arts and Health
Foundation Award

Arts and Health Foundation Award

Winner

Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT)
and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead

National and
New South Wales
This project has paved the way for
future collaboration and has helped
to break down some of the barriers to
interdisciplinary collaboration in the
health setting. Most importantly we
have already produced a wonderful
interactive artwork which can be
experienced by children in the
hospital setting. This has the potential
to significantly improve their hospital
experience and self-efficacy.

For partnerships between
healthcare and arts
organisations that improve
health and wellbeing.

The Arts and Health Foundation is a
charitable organisation established
to improve individual and community
health and wellbeing by promoting the
expansion of knowledge, evidence,
capacity and investment in arts and
health practices in Australia.
In particular the Foundation supports
and promotes:
• arts programs aiming to improve
patient and staff health and
wellbeing in health settings;
• arts programs to improve health
and wellbeing in the wider
community;
• research to provide evidence and
enhance understanding of the
benefits of the arts to individual and
community health and wellbeing.
In addition, the Foundation has
successfully advocated for national
policy recognition of the role of the
arts in the health and wellbeing of
all Australians.
The Arts and Health Foundation
Award honours successful,
sustainable partnerships between
healthcare and arts and cultural
organisations working to improve the
health and wellbeing of individuals
and communities.

Benefits for the arts organisation
• Developing a best practice
methodology for collaboration
between arts and science
An evolving partnership has been
facilitated by the Australian Network
for Art and Technology (ANAT)
with artist Dr George Khut and The
Children’s Hospital at Westmead
paediatrician Dr Angie Morrow
to research ways in which the
adaptation of biofeedback-based
artworks can help manage the pain
and anxiety experienced by children
undergoing medical procedures.
ANAT is a not-for-profit organisation
that provided leadership and support to
individuals and organisations pursuing
collaborative and creative research
projects in Australia and beyond.
Dr Morrow was curious to explore
how art and technology could be
used in health care and Dr Khut
was looking for health sector partners
to extend his research into bodyfocused (biofeedback) interactive art
experiences. A research project was
suggested to explore how Dr Khut’s
biofeedback interactions could be
used to help children undergoing
recurrent medical procedures. An
arts-science residency grant from
ANAT supported the preliminary
work at the hospital.

concepts evolved through a process
of observation and listening to the
experiences of children, their carers
and health professionals. Together
the partners explored the efficacy
of multimedia interaction as a tool
for managing painful procedure
related anxiety.
This three-way partnership is based
on the shared commitment to
enhance children’s health and the
belief that collaboration between the
arts and sciences has the potential
to create new knowledge, ideas and
processes which are beneficial to both
fields. Enabling such collaborations is
a core element of ANAT’s mission.
Partnerships such as these increase
recognition amongst artists, scientists,
researchers and government agencies
of the value of collaborative art and
science research. The partnership
between ANAT, Dr Khut and the
Children’s Hospital at Westmead’s
Dr Angie Morrow has provided a
platform to develop creative arts
practice in health care settings and
ultimately to improve the experiences
of children in hospital.

• Increasing recognition amongst
scientists, researchers, government
agencies and science organisations
as to the value of collaborative art/
science research
• Strengthening of strategic
partnerships across the science
and technology sectors
Benefits for the health organisation
• In-kind donation of research,
creativity and administration
• Research partnerships with
university partners in the Schools
of Design and Software at
University of Technology Sydney
• Generation of a body of experiential
and evaluative data to inform future
research
Outcomes for health
• The potential to radically improve
children’s experience in hospital
• A focus on the personal as well as
the medical experience of children
in hospital

The project, BrightHearts, provided
the artist with insights into the
workings of a hospital. Initial design

Junction Arts Festival and Kids Paradise, Pregnant
and Young Parents Support Service & cu@home

Tasmania

Mental illness can be a long and
lonely journey and the pathway
to recovery is different for each
individual. Mindshare is a place
for people to talk about their lives,
issues and experiences while
enriching others with knowledge
of their personal experience.
Each of us is special, we all
have a personal story to tell and
Mindshare allows us all to shine.

Many of the mothers engaged in
cu@home do not come from a
background where play is considered
important and therefore do not naturally
encourage their own children to play
creatively. This will be a new step
forward in encouraging young
vulnerable parents to engage in this kind
of activity. Extra care has been taken to
devise a project that encourages the
families to feel safe and supported in
entering into a new venture.

Steve Clark, mindshare uploader

Libby Dawson, cu@home

A partnership between Media
Resource Centre (MRC), Messenger
Press and the Mental Health Coalition
of SA (MHCSA) and its members, the
Mindshare website and programs aim
to reduce the stigma of mental health
by creating opportunities to share
stories through filmmaking, blogs,
creative writing, photography,
music and art.
This worthwhile partnership
began when the South Australian
Government approached the MRC,
a not-for-profit filmmaking
organisation to develop a project with
the MHCSA. Messenger Press joined
the collaboration as media partner.
The initial scope of the project was
for the MRC to provide people living
with a mental illness with filmmaking
skills. To ensure the project would
have ongoing impact, the reduction of
mental health stigma became a central
objective. The project was expanded
to include art forms that could be
presented digitally, including creative
writing, photography and music.
Reaching and building an audience
was critical and building a website
to broadcast the stories became
a strategy for the project. The

60

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Messenger Press ensured the
outcomes were well promoted through
interviewing and sharing the stories
of 44 mental health consumers in the
lead up to the launch of the website.
Mindshare has enabled each of the
project’s partners to achieve much
more than they could alone. MRC has
been able to develop and showcase
its capacity to deliver a large-scale
community social media program. At
the same time, the small health body
of MHCSA has been able to create a
media rich website that allows people
living with a mental illness to share
their stories and challenges.
The MHCSA believes that greater
understanding leads to greater
empathy. Thanks to their partnership
with the MRC, a reduction in stigma
of mental health is now a reality.

Benefits for the arts organisation

Benefits for the arts organisation

• The opportunity to work on a
large-scale media partnership
with long term strategies

• Financial support for How High
the Sky

• Filmmakers were educated on
how to work with mental health
consumers and guides were
produced for Messenger Press
journalists (including guides on
defamation) as part of the
media partnership
• The opportunity to work with
new communities
Benefits for the health organisation
• A one stop portal for mental
health consumers to exhibit their
creative work
• Improved availability to present
issues to government
• Training in filmmaking and
social media
Outcomes for health
• An online tool that works to
reduce stigma and break down
negative stereotypes surrounding
mental health
• Increased understanding of mental
illness and its prevention by the
Mindshare audience
• National and international exposure
of the need to reduce the stigma
mental health

Research has shown that families
that engage in regular creative play
with their children enjoy improved
outcomes in overall wellbeing. Thanks
to the support of Kids Paradise, an
interactive play centre in Launceston,
Junction Arts Festival (JAF) was
able to deliver a community focused
performance series to educate the
public on infant health and interaction.
The workshop development process
for the performance included the
Pregnant and Young Parents Support
Service (PYPS) and cu@home, a
program offered to young first time
parents. As organisations that focus on
the emotional and physical health of
young parents and their babies, PYPS
and cu@home were ideal collaborators
for a project to promote social inclusion
and education in a marginalised
segment of the community.

was very popular and feedback
following the Festival placed it as one
of the top three audience ‘favourites’
of JAF 2011.

• Sharing of information to client
networks, in particular young and
at-risk parents
• A popular event that engaged
the young parent community

The partnership was a success on
many fronts. It allowed Junction Arts
Festival to provide an experiential,
accessible event that engaged
with young parents. At the same
time, the partnership provided Kids
Paradise with a new channel to
communicate with their key target
market and expand their networks
with organisations such as PYPS
and cu@home.

Benefits for the health organisation

The knowledge, support and
networks gained throughout the first
year of the partnership have been
extremely valuable and will continue
to assist young parents and the wider
community of Tasmania.

Outcomes for health

JAF worked with PYPS, cu@
home and the theatre company,
Polyglot, to develop a creative show
as an interactive experience for
babies and their carers. The result
of these collaborations was How
High the Sky, that encouraged a
greater understanding of the thought
processes of children. The project

Image credit: How High the Sky by Polyglot Theatre. Photo: Kate Kirby.

• Kids Paradise, PYPS and cu@
home logos were featured on a
wide variety of marketing collateral
as well as the Junction Arts Festival
website and program
• Clients were able to participate in
the workshops and performances
and meet artists

• An experiential, accessible program
that engages young parents
• Learning experiences for young
parents about the importance of play
• Raised awareness of infant
health and the local organisations
available to support young parents

61

Arts and Health Foundation Award

Winner

Moonshine Movies and
Palliative Care Australia

Victoria

Woodside Better
Business Award

Whilst death is something that
everyone in the world will experience,
the limitations around language and
communication prevent us from
having the conversations that would
help make a difference to how people
live at the end of their lives. What LIFE
Before Death gives us is something
that needs no language to explain;
the visuals say everything and unite
everyone around the same actions.

For business volunteers or
board members who have
helped achieve significant
business outcomes for arts
and cultural organisations
or individual artists. Open to
all business volunteers who
work with the arts.

Dr Yvonne Luxford, Chief
Executive Officer, Palliative
Care Australia
At Woodside, volunteering activities
are a hallmark of our culture, so
much so that we are a benchmark
leader in employee volunteering and
participation within the resources
sector. With this in mind Woodside
is pleased to present AbaF’s
Woodside Better Business program,
including adviceBank and boardBank
volunteering services, for artists,
arts organisations and business
people across Australia. Through the
Woodside Better Business Award,
Woodside and AbaF are pleased to
recognise and honour the significant
contribution of business volunteers for
the arts.

Benefits for the arts organisation
• A launch partner to build audiences
for LIFE Before Death
Palliative Care Australia and
Moonshine Movies joined forces to
launch the advocacy project, LIFE
Before Death. The project explores
untreated pain and the dramatic lifechanging effect that palliative care
can deliver to patients and families
facing life-limiting illnesses.
The project comprises of a feature
film, a 55 minute television
documentary and 50 short films, each
addressing a specific issue relating to
pain and palliative care. LIFE Before
Death has reached over 100,000
health professionals, policy-makers,
patients and other stakeholders
with its mission to improve pain
management and end of life care.
Palliative Care Australia is a national
organisation that represents the
interests of people who share the idea
of quality care at the end of life for
everyone. Moonshine Movies is the
independent film production company
with a focus on the development
and production of innovative film and
transmedia experiences.
Moonshine Movie’s founder, Mike
Hill, met Dr Yvonne Luxford, the
CEO of Palliative Care Australia, at
an initiative run by the Institute for
Palliative Medicine at San Diego
Hospice in 2011. Dr Luxford realised

62

AbaF Gold Book 2012

that the arguments presented in LIFE
Before Death closely aligned with the
interests of Palliative Care Australia
in promoting access to palliative care
and essential medicines.

• Expert advice and source material
on the subject of palliative care
• Access to new audiences
Benefits for the health organisation

This was the beginning of a mutually
beneficial and strategic partnership.
Together, through the promotion
of LIFE Before Death, Moonshine
Movies and Palliative Care Australia
have raised awareness of palliative
and end of life care. They have
improved understanding and the
availability of services across
Australia and encouraged discussion
to support better knowledge networks.

• Raising public awareness of
palliative care and the life-changing
benefits it can deliver

The engaging material of LIFE
Before Death and the discussions
it has raised have brought the
issues surrounding end of life care
to a broader audience, including
government bodies, in Australia
and abroad.

Outcomes for health

• A creative channel to address
issues surrounding palliative care
• Accessible and visual media to
inform and advocate to target
groups including government
and medical professionals

• The collection of films has reached
over 100,000 health professionals,
policy-makers, patients and other
stakeholders to advocate for
improved pain management and
end of life care
• Raised public awareness via
media and social media
• Assisted health professionals
through screenings at health
facilities and educational institutions
• Informed Senate Enquiry into
palliative care via a screening
at Parliament House Australia

With Steve Maras’ networks in the
property industry, his business and
management skills and his sheer
enthusiasm, our organisation has
effectively doubled in size … allowing
us to assist over 100 individual
exhibits, events and performances in
the Adelaide area during the last year.

The arts and the creative industries
define who we are. They build
community spirit and soul; they
are the backdrop for community
aspiration. I am personally very
proud to have been part of a project
in which business and government
are forging new bonds to help the
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Foundation build a cultural asset for
all of us today and for our children
and generations to come.

Dr Ianto Ware, CEO,
Renew Adelaide

Adrian Fini

Benefits for Renew Adelaide

Benefits for the Art Gallery
of Western Australia

• Spaces for cultural groups including
Adelaide Festival
• Mentorship and professional
development for staff
Renew Adelaide is the South
Australian version of the successful
Renew Newcastle project, a notfor-profit enterprise which allows
cultural and community organisations
to occupy empty buildings. When it
began, the volunteer group behind
Renew Adelaide was highly skilled
in the arts; however they needed
someone who knew the local property
industry to really succeed.
Steve Maras, the Managing Director
of Maras Group, joined the Renew
Adelaide board in 2011 and filled
this crucial gap. Through Steve’s
connections, Renew Adelaide was
introduced to a number of high profile
commercial property owners who
were able to provide empty spaces.
These included 199 and 200 North
Terrace – buildings which had stood
vacant for almost 10 years and
were successfully transformed into
key venues for the Adelaide Fringe
Festival in 2012 with a bar, a café
and six theatres.

As well as his own properties and
professional networks, as a board
member Steve Maras has generously
shared his detailed understanding
of the property industry, governance
and regulatory issues. Thanks to
his mentorship, Steve has helped
Renew Adelaide shift from a volunteer
board of five young people with
limited experience to an incorporated
organisation with an eight-person
board consisting of highly skilled
professionals.

• Legal, accounting and insurance
services via professional networks
Benefits for Steve Maras
• A better understanding of the nature
of alternate uses for empty spaces
• A positive impact on the
Maras Group business and
its public image
• A better position to lease spaces
to commercial tenants

Both the Maras Group and Renew
Adelaide share a belief that nobody
benefits from empty shops, unused
buildings or vacant streets. The
passion Steve Maras shares with
Renew Adelaide for urban renewal
has made him not only an invaluable
member of the board but also an ideal
advocate for the organisation as it
continues to grow.

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Adrian was appointed to the AGWA
Board in 2006, where he assists with
governance, strategic oversight and
specialist working groups. In 2008 he
was the driving force behind a national
forum of architects and planners that
explored visions of regeneration for
the Gallery, its surrounds and how the
arts fit into a sustainable community.
As a highly respected businessman
and community leader, Adrian has
also opened doors to several valuable
individuals and organisations for
the Gallery.

the very best art in the areas of
Indigenous, Western Australian,
Australian and international
contemporary art.
Under Adrian Fini, the TomorrowFund
is also making a significant impact on
the state’s arts scene. Local artists
who are showcased by AGWA receive
exposure, an enormous profile boost
and the honour of sharing space with
timeless classics.
The relationship between Adrian
Fini and AGWA has evolved over its
thirteen years with Adrian providing
advice and expertise in many areas
as well as financial support. He has
changed the Gallery’s vision, direction
and capacity to acquire works of art,
ensuring its place as the premier
public art collection in the state.

• Encouraging private sector support
which has demonstrated to the
Government that the community
values the State Art Collection
• New donors and increased visibility
for the Gallery
Benefits for Adrian Fini
• Further development of business
skills through Board involvement
• Personal satisfaction from
transforming the cultural life
of Western Australia

In 2008, Adrian was appointed
Chair of the AGWA Foundation
TomorrowFund, a major new initiative
conceived to transform the State Art
Collection with an ambitious goal of
raising $25 million for the acquisition
of contemporary art. The objective of
the TomorrowFund is to take the State
Collection to a new level by acquiring

Since Steve joined the board, Renew
Adelaide has more than doubled the
amount of vacant spaces it has been
able to activate, including spaces
from Steve’s own Maras Group. As a
result, the business benefits for Steve
Maras have included greater interest
from potential commercial tenants.

64

Adrian Fini and the Art Gallery of
Western Australia have enjoyed a
fruitful partnership for thirteen years.
It began in 1999 when Adrian made
a gift to the Gallery and became a
life member. A subsequent donation
in 2007 enabled the acquisition of
a significant group of contemporary
artworks. This was followed by a
major financial commitment to the
Gallery’s TomorrowFund in 2009.

• The establishment of the
TomorrowFund to purchase
significant local and international
pieces for the State Collection

Image credit: Adrian Fini and The Hon John Day, Minister for Culture and the Arts at TomorrowFund
event. Photo: Bo Wong.

65

Woodside Better Business Award

Stompin and Darren Alexander

Winner

Woodside Better Business Award

Winner

Tasmania

The Living Room Theatre
and Ray Parslow

New South Wales

Darren’s commitment, enthusiasm
and generosity are a factor of
Stompin’s success to date. We are
extremely grateful to Darren for his
involvement as the Chair of the
Stompin Board and a sponsor with
Autech Software and Design. Darren
has an incredible drive and passion
for Stompin and fits us into his
rigorous business schedule at times
when we need him most.

I get great pleasure seeing the
connection people make between the
graphic design and the performance
– everything working holistically …
Helping do this small thing can make
a huge difference to the way the
company is viewed and its level of
professionalism.
Ray Parslow

Sarah McCormack,
Executive Producer, Stompin

Benefits for Stompin

Benefits for The Living
Room Theatre

• Increased awareness in the
business community

• A new logo

• Greater access for the public
through the website and iPhone app
In 2010, the board of the Launceston
based dance organisation, Stompin
decided the time was right to become
more sustainable and to no longer
rely so heavily on government
funding. At the same time, Stompin
was introduced to Darren Alexander
from the design house, Autech,
through AbaF’s boardBank.
It was perfect timing, as the board
soon discovered that in Darren they
had found someone who could assist
them in the crucial tasks of improving
the Stompin brand and securing new
avenues of income. In 2011, Darren
accepted the role of Chair.
Through his design business, Autech,
Darren created a new, more corporate
website for Stompin which has
improved the company’s promotion
and improved its chances of finding
further business support. Darren
also supported the development of
a Stompin iPhone app with features
including upcoming performances,
videos and social media integration.

celebrate Stompin’s long history, with
all profits going back into the company.

• Professional development for staff

Darren Alexander’s business, Autech,
has benefitted greatly from his
involvement. Stompin is a Launceston
icon, with more than one generation
of dancers among its population.
Autech is to be part of the Stompin
story – some staff members are
proud former dancers – and morale
at the business has grown since the
partnership began.

Benefits for Darren Alexander
• Personal satisfaction of helping the
community
• Brand acknowledgement for his
business on all marketing material
• Tickets to shows

Darren has been able to increase his
love of the arts and his dedication to
the community.
Stompin initially sought a new board
member who was business minded
and connected. Darren Alexander has
greatly exceeded those expectations.
His invaluable influence as a
benefactor, a mentor and a business
manager has brought a more
confident future to Stompin.

Outside of these technological
innovations, Darren has opened
Stompin up to more networks through
opportunities to perform at festivals
and fundraising events. He has also
supported a 21st birthday book to

66

AbaF Gold Book 2012

• A theatre catalogue
• A new website
A chance meeting on a bus between
a graphic designer, Ray Parslow and
an actor and one half of the Living
Room Theatre, Michelle St Anne
has led to an enduring and valuable
partnership.

invaluable skills and the company has
started a relationship with the Sydney
Festival. These networks have all
been made with the assistance of
Ray’s rebranding and the skill he has
brought to the company’s collateral.

When they met, the Living Room
Theatre website and logo were bright
pink – which in no way conveyed
the dark material being presented
by the company. Ray was able to
successfully translate the tone and
the feeling of the theatre company
into a new visual brand and apply that
to a new website and brochure.

For Ray Parslow, his countless hours
as a volunteer have delivered creative
satisfaction working alongside
other artists, as well as valuable
professional development.

Ray sees his role as helping to
provide a stronger visual presence
and to create a visual language for
the Living Room Theatre. In doing
so, he has made a huge difference to
the way the company is seen in the
professional world, which in turn has
helped with corporate support. As well
as the new brand, Ray has produced
pitch documents, posters, flyers,
postcards, invitations, signage and
much more.

Ultimately the contribution of Ray
Parslow has been to help The Living
Room Theatre understand the role of
branding and marketing more clearly,
which in turn has led to a better
understanding of its demographic.
With more and more success, the
dreams of a small arts organisation
to tour to Berlin and Toronto now
seem achievable.

The relationship has continued
for six years, with Ray serving for
part of that time as a chairperson
on the board. Over that period, the
board has attracted other talented
individuals who each contribute

NSW & ACT
aMBUSH Gallery and Sydney
Harbour Federation Trust
aMBUSH Gallery and The
Galeries
Australian Network for Art and
Technology and The Childrens
Hospital at Westmead
Australian Theatre for Young
People and Freya Lombardo

Australian Youth Orchestra
and King & Wood Mallesons
Bell Shakespeare and Optus
Centenary of Canberra Unit,
Chief Minister & Cabinet
Directorate, ACT Government
and You Are Here and Canberra
CBD Limited
Four Winds Festival
Griffin Theatre Company and
Interbrand
Information & Cultural Exchange
(ICE) and Nepean Intensive
Care Unit and The GroundSwell
Project
Information & Cultural Exchange
(ICE) and Popperbox/Symple
Creative and The Lot and Special
Broadcasting Service (SBS)
Mixed Media and Qantas Airways
National Gallery of Australia
and San Remo
Object: Australian Design Centre
and Canvas Group
Poetry in Action and Gadens
Lawyers
Riverside Theatres
Sculpture by the Sea and Allens
South East Arts (NSW) and
Corrective Services NSW
Sydney Dance Company
and Bendon
Sydney Dance Company
and The Works
Sydney Harbour Federation
Trust and Microsoft
Sydney Symphony and
Credit Suisse
Sydney Theatre Company and
Greening the Wharf partners
The Living Room Theatre and
Ray Parslow
The Song Company and
Principals
The Song Room and Coal
& Allied Community
Development Fund
WA
Art Gallery of Western Australia
and Adrian Fini
AWESOME Arts Australia and
303Lowe & Zac Creative
Big hART and Woodside Energy
Black Swan State Theatre
Company and Dessein

Film & Television Institute WA
and Madfish Wines
The HELIX Project and HARTAC
Sales and Distribution
KULCHA Multicultural Arts of
Western Australia and CITIC
Pacific Mining
Perth International Arts Festival
Perth International Arts Festival
and Griffiths Architects
Shakespeare WA and Santos
Tura New Music and Total E&P
Australia
West Australian Opera and
Hollywood Private Hospital
West Australian Opera and
Wesfarmers
West Australian Symphony
Orchestra and Chevron Australia
Western Australian Museum and
Woodside Energy and Society
for Underwater Technology
VIC
Abbotsford Convent Foundation
and ACE Alliance (Melbourne
Water / Thiess Services)
Arts Project Australia and
Leonard Joel
City of Greater Bendigo
and Bendigo Advertiser
Creativity Australia and
Royal Children’s Hospital
Creativity Australia and Sofitel
Frankston Arts Centre
Geelong Performing Arts Centre
and Bendigo Community Banks
(Geelong Region)
Heide Museum of Modern Art
Lake Bolac Eel Festival and
Deakin University
Melbourne Recital Centre and
Audi Australia
Melbourne Theatre Company
Melbourne Writers Festival
Moonshine Movies and
Palliative Care Australia
Museum Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
and Ernst & Young
Polyglot Theatre
Sally McLean
Sculpture and Spatial Practice,
School of Art, VCA, The
University of Melbourne and
Lend Lease

Production Resource Group (PRG) is the world’s leading
supplier of entertainment and event technology to a wide
range of markets, including performing arts, concerts,
special events, theatre, televisions and film, corporate
and automotive events, trade shows, and installations,
such as theme parks, museums, retail stores as well as
performing arts centres.
PRG has a long history of working in the arts, from
Broadway or London’s West End to the Capitol Theatre
or local productions including School Spectacular, the
redevelopment of Melbourne’s Hamer Hall or fitting out
school performing arts centres. PRG understands the
needs and vision of the arts and entertainment sector and
offers the most advanced, innovative solutions to implement
creative visions across all cultural disciplines.
PRG Australia recently re-affirmed its 30 year strong
partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne for the re-opening
and development of Hamer Hall, working on the specific
lighting control needs for the project as well as coordinating
a spectacular light show held nightly in July 2012.

72

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Leeuwin Estate
The Art Of Fine Wine

With highly skilled teams of technicians and craftsmen,
PRG can evaluate and address the myriad of
considerations for permanent and touring productions,
concerts, filming, special events and more, regardless
of scale.

A family operated boutique vineyard and winery, Leeuwin
Estate, one of the founding wineries of Western Australia’s
renowned Margaret River district, is particularly proud to
be consistently recognised amongst the great icon wines
of the world.

Described as the most extraordinary concerts ever held
in Australia, these sellout events now enjoy a 28-year
history and have featured an eclectic mix of the world’s
finest musicians and entertainers, becoming a highlight in
Australia’s social and cultural calendar.

Special events with PRG are just that, unique productions
that can take place in any venue, for any audience with any
creative vision.

Leeuwin’s premium wines are known as the “Art Series”.
The labels are adorned with the artworks of leading
contemporary Australian artists. The collection now
comprises over one hundred works from artists including
John Olsen, Arthur Boyd, Sir Sidney Nolan, Lloyd Rees,
Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Robert Juniper, Clifton Pugh
and Immants Tiller. Each painting forms part of the private
collection owned by the Estate and displayed in
the Leeuwin Art gallery.

A benchmark producer with an outstanding international
reputation, Leeuwin attracts thousands of discerning
wine connoisseurs each year. Visitors to the picturesque
Estate can indulge in gourmet cuisine from the awardwinning restaurant, enjoy spectacular alfresco summertime
concerts, inspect Leeuwin’s unique collection of
contemporary Australian art, experience a behind the
scenes tour of the winemaking process, utilise the private
boardroom facilities and of course, savour Leeuwin’s
outstanding premium wines. A scenic charter flight service
from Perth to the Estate’s private airstrip is available.

The world’s leading supplier of entertainment and event
technology, PRG provides integrated services and
equipment, including audio, video, lighting, rigging, staging,
and scenery and automation systems, from more than 40
offices in North America, South America, Europe, Africa,
Asia and Australia.
PRG Australia (and formerly Bytecraft) has been proud to
partner with AbaF for more than ten years.
www.prg.com

Continuing the Estate’s association with the arts, the
tradition of the Leeuwin Concerts began in 1985 when
the Estate provided financial support for the London
Philharmonic Orchestra’s tour to Australia. As part of
the visit the Orchestra performed in this unique vineyard
setting, thereby launching what was to become an
institution - the annual “Leeuwin Concert Series”.

The wines of Leeuwin Estate can be found in fine
establishments in 30 markets.
www.leeuwinestate.com.au
tel: (08) 9759 0000 email: info@leeuwinestate.com.au

The Australian Financial Review has been the leading
authority on business and finance for the past 60 years.
Although our readers are business leaders and senior
executives or professionals they are also avid lovers of
culture and the arts.
The Australian Financial Review features highly respected
arts coverage in Arts & Salesroom and Arts & Review in the
Weekend Edition.
The Australian Financial Review, AbaFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2012 National
Media Partner, is delighted to support the AbaF Awards.
that have long celebrated a successful marriage between
business and the arts, a vital ingredient to the sustainability
and growth of the cultural economy, in Australia.
AFR is invested in engaging with our readers at a deeper
level, not just in their business lives but by being connected
with and supporting their cultural interests and endeavours.

74

AbaF Gold Book 2012

Whether it is through the generation of debate around
philanthropy and the arts, or through our upcoming cultural
alliances as part of the launch of a new subscriber loyalty
program later in 2012, the Financial Review will continue
to set the agenda through quality journalism on the most
important issues facing the sector.
www.afr.com.au

Acknowledgements
The Gold Book 2012 was prepared
by the Australia Business Arts
Foundation based on the nominations
submitted for the AbaF Awards
2012. The nominations and judgesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
comments are the source of the
information and quotes published
in this book. AbaF thanks all the
organisations featured in this
book for their nominations and the
accompanying images. All images are
used by permission of the artists and
organisations.
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to
ensure that this publication is free
from error and/or omission at the
time of printing. The authors, the
publisher and any person involved
in the preparation of the Gold Book
2012 take no responsibility for
loss occasioned to any person or
organisation acting or refraining
from action as a result of information
contained in this publication.
ISBN: 978-0-9804540-6-2
The Gold Book 2012 is published
by the Australia Business Arts
Foundation (AbaF).

This work is copyright. Apart from
any use as permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part may be
reproduced by any process without
prior permission from the Australia
Business Arts Foundation. Requests
and enquiries concerning reproduction
and rights should be addressed by
email to info@abaf.org.au

The Australia Business Arts Foundation is supported by the Commonwealth Government through
the Cultural Development Program of the Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local
Government, Arts and Sport.